


Now Run

by valenlimes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Humor, Bad Boy Na Jaemin, Cyborgs, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gang Violence, Gangs, Hacking, Human Trafficking, I am really sorry for this, I am sorry for this, Jail, M/M, Mafia AU, Multi, NCT Dream Gang AU, Nct dream ensemble - Freeform, Night Terrors, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, chenle is sassy, donghyuck is trying his best, jaemin centric, jaemin has no idea what is going on, jeno is a sweetheart, jisung is cool, mark is a good leader, mentioned rape, norenmin, pls ignore the warnings, renjun is a bit of a bitch, swearing as because they are angsty teens, they are just there as a precaution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-06-30 23:25:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15761865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valenlimes/pseuds/valenlimes
Summary: "Not all criminals are bad, Jaemin."In a dog-eat-dog world, the price of happiness is high. In NCT Dream it is even higher.Alternatively - Jaemin tries to steal an x-box and things kind of escalate from there





	1. Bad Boy

**Author's Note:**

> so this is it. the huge fic I have been working on for like three months now. and its both unedited and unbeta-ed  
> its pretty angsty so hold on tight kids. also please ignore the rape and violence tags - it's not that bad I just needed to put them there just in case.  
> keep in mind i don't know too much about weapons or gang stuff in general, so if some of the information is incorrect just ignore it.
> 
> and yes, a character does die, but we aren't going to talk about that. please don't hate me and enjoy. I worked really hard on this one.  
> some more notes:  
> \- there is a really brief mention of rape but it doesn't go into detail  
> \- there is violence but its level of graphic-ness really depends on your level of squeamishness, i personally wouldn't count it was very graphic

**Name:** Na, Jaemin

 **DOB:** 13-08-2000

 **Nationality:** Korean

 **Enlistment Period:** N/A

 **Skills:** N/A

 **Weapons:** N/A

**Extra:**

\- Often seen with two other males, relation unknown, pose no possible threat.  
\- Appears to have no family connections, possibly homeless. Does not attend school.  
\- Three previous police engagements – petty theft, violence and public indecency.  
\- Likes chicken and ramen.  
\- Skill level to be determined. 

 

~

 

There was a piercing wale as the store alarms went off. The shopkeeper yelled out for them to stop.

“FUCKING RUN!” Jaemin yelled and took off running. Beside him, Minho and Chan were also sprinting hard.

“Minho, you piece of shit! I thought you said that store didn’t have any security.” Chan’s breathing was laboured.

“Jesus Chan! I said I couldn’t see any. Did you see any? No? That’s what I thought.” Minho spat back. They skidded around a corner, heading for the nearest safe spot.

“Can you two shut the fuck up and focus on running? I can hear the police coming!” Jaemin clutched his bag closer to his chest as the sirens grew louder. The $300 worth of gaming equipment that they had just stolen was heavy, but he couldn’t slow down or else they would be caught.  
“Down here!” Chan led them around another turn.

Straight into a dead end.  
“Chan, you dipshit! What are we gonna do now?!” Jaemin yelled, looking around for any possible escape route. Ahead there was a wire fence, a few feet taller than him. Minho and Chan obviously had the same idea as him because they had already begun to clamber up the flimsy barrier. The sirens were growing louder by the second.

Jaemin grabbed onto the fence, thin wire cutting into his hands. The bag was weighing him down and he couldn’t get a proper foothold on the fence.

“Jae hurry up!” Minho called from the other side of the fence. “They will be here any second!” 

“I am trying asshole!” He slid down the fence again. The police cars had pulled up at the entrance to the alley and were getting out of their cars.

“Stop where you are, young man.” A voice crackled through the grainy megaphone as a tall man in uniform approached. 

“Sorry, Jaemin.” On the other side of the wire fence, Chan gave him a salute and sprinted away. Minho shot him an apologetic smile before turning and chasing after the other, leaving Jaemin and the bag full of $300 evidence stranded with a bunch of scary adults with Tasers. 

“YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING DEAD!” Jaemin screamed at the retreating figures. He knew it was pointless, they couldn’t hear him (or just weren’t listening), but it made him feel a little bit better.  
He sighed, resting his head against the fence. Behind him, heavy footsteps were approaching.  
“Turn around.” A gruff voice commanded. Jaemin fought back the whimper that was clawing up his throat. Being a pussy wasn’t going to help the situation. He remained still, opting to close his eyes and pray that the god of delinquent-high-school-drop-outs was listening and feeling gracious that day. 

“I said, turn around.” The voice came again, louder and more aggressive. “Look, kid, we don’t have time for this. Just give us the bag and get in the car. I don’t want to have to use force.”

He could do this. Everything was going to be fine. It’s not like he was getting arrested or anything. 

Jaemin inhaled, and exhaled, and inhaled again before fixing an award-winning smile onto his face and turning around.  
“What seems to be the problem officer?” He kept his voice neutral. 

“Don’t play games with me kid, you know what you have done, now don’t move.” The officer approached, unclipping the bag from around Jaemin’s shoulder. He grabbed Jaemin’s wrists, clapping a pair of handcuffs tightly around his wrists before roughly shoving him in the direction of the cars. The officer released his hold, leaving Jaemin free to walk by himself. Seizing the opportunity, Jaemin surged forward, running towards a gap in the line of uniformed men and women.  
“Someone get him.” A short, stocky woman appeared in Jaemin’s line of vision. He attempted to sidestep her, instead tripping and smacking his face on the headlight of the nearest police car. He lay on the cold concrete, curled up in a foetal position. 

Pathetic. 

His cheekbone was throbbing and his wrists were hurting where the handcuffs dug in.  
A large set of arms wrapped around his midsection, before hefting his sorry ass off the ground and shoving him into the backseat of a cop car. 

“Shit.”

 

~

 

 **Name:** Zhong Chenle

 **DOB:** 22-11-2001

 **Nationality:** Chinese

 **Enlistment Period:** 3 years

 **Skills:** Intelligence, hacking and technology, chemical engineering, weapon manufacturing

 **Weapons:** Handguns, semi-automatic pistol, has been known to poison dart people.

 **Extra:**  
\- Father is a powerful businessman in China  
\- Unnaturally smart  
\- Satisfactory combat skills  
\- Can drive (note: don’t let him drive)  
\- Don’t accept anything from him – most likely laced with drugs  
\- Loud

 

~

 

“Holy hell what happened to you?” Jaemin collapsed in a corner of the holding cell. A few meters away, a blonde male was perched on the end of a metal bench, staring inquisitively. He looked to be a year or two younger, with wide eyes and a cute face. _Way too innocent to be in a jail cell._

“None of your fucking business,” Jaemin responded gruffly before burying his still aching face into the collar of his jacket. 

“That looks like it hurt. Did someone punch you?” The blonde scooted closer, pristine white sneakers squeaking against the grimy linoleum. Everything this kid was wearing looked expensive, right down to the shiny black smartwatch strapped to his wrist. _Seriously, how did this kid land himself in a cell?_

“I said it’s none. Of. Your. Business.” He growled. 

The boy scowled. “Fine, be like that.” He leaned back against the wall and pulled a mobile phone from his back pocket.

“They didn’t take your phone?” Jaemin sat up straighter, ignoring the rush of blood to his head. 

“Oh, now he wants to talk.” The male smirked before turning back to the screen. “Clearly, they didn’t take my phone, genius.”

Jaemin almost laughed out of disbelief. “Who are you?” 

The blonde pocketed his phone. “Your ticket out of this dump.” 

Ok, now Jaemin was just in shock. “Bro, no offence but are you a bit funny in the head? In case you haven’t noticed we are in _jail._ I have no idea how you managed to get yourself in here in the first place, but you can’t just waltz out of a police station because you feel like it.”

“Ah, see that’s what you think.” The stranger winked before looking down at his watch. “We should be good to go in 10…” He held up a hand, counting down the seconds.

“What the fuck man, you are crazy!” 

“7… 6… You might want to stand up, we are going to have to move fast if we want to avoid any fights.”

“FIGHTS?!”

“Shh, do you want them to hear you? 3… 2… 1… Aaaannnddd boom.” He pointed at the cell door. 

Nothing happened. 

“Goddammit, he is late. Way to ruin the moment.” The kid rolled his eyes. “Sorry about that. Super anticlimactic.” There was a hiss as the cell door unlocked. He smiled. “Better late than never I guess.” He got up and exited the cell. Jaemin was frozen in the corner, fearing for his life.

“Are you coming or what?” 

He held an arm out, pointing an accusatory finger at the boy. He pretended not to notice how much it was shaking. “Nu-uh. I am not going anywhere with you psycho.” 

“Wow, that cuts me deep.” The blonde put a hand to his chest sarcastically. “Look, you either come with me or deal with a bazillion questions on how you managed to get the cell door open by yourself.” 

Jaemin dropped his hand, weighing the options in his head. The kid _was_ giving him a get out of jail free card… besides, he could just book it the second he left the station and pretend like this whole situation had never happened…  
He stepped through the doorway. 

“That’s what I thought. Now come on, I can practically smell the suspicion radiating off of those Dunkin’ Donut obsessed dipshits.” 

They crept through the halls of the station, ducking around corners and tiptoeing past the doorways. When they came to the receptionist desk, the stranger turned to Jaemin.  
“Ok so here’s what we are going to do. I am going to distract the receptionist while you crawl past the desk and out the door.” 

“What!” Jaemin shout-whispered. “Are you crazy! They will recognise you!”

The boy rolled his eyes again. “Dude I have 164 IQ, I know what I am doing. Trust me, they won’t recognise me.” 

“Fine.” Jaemin got down on his hands and knees and started crawling towards the exit.

The (stupidly smart) blonde walked over to the receptionist desk. “Excuse me, ma’am, I was wondering if you have received any information about a lost dog? Scruffy went missing last week and…” Jaemin stopped paying attention. He had to give it to the kid, his acting skills were top notch. There were tears and everything.  
He was only 10 meters away from the door now. 10 meters to freedom…

“Hey!” A woman’s voice called from behind. The receptionist was leaning over the desk, glaring directly at Jaemin.  
The blonde kid had started speed walking over to him. “Get up.” He hissed. 

“Wait! Stop where you are.” The receptionist muttered something into a walkie-talkie. Jaemin assumed she was calling for backup.  
“Get up!” The boy yanked him up by the collar into standing position. “Now run.” 

They broke out into a sprint. _Not this again._

“You won’t have to run for long this time. The car is waiting down the street.” He pointed at a large black van 100 meters or so away.  
As they approached the back of the van began to open, engine roaring to life. Behind him, Jaemin could hear police boots thudding against the pavement. 

“Get in!” The blonde had jumped inside the van and it was beginning to pull away from the curb. He held out a hand for Jaemin to grab onto and heaved him inside the vehicle. They took off, van veering down the road at least 10 kilometres over the speed limit. Jaemin, lacking any form of handhold, was tossed onto the floor of the van. The kid laughed. 

“That was fun! I should go on missions more often.” _Missions?_

“Yeah right Chenle, as if I am ever going to let you go into the field again after that shit show.” A voice called from up the front of the van. From his position on the floor, Jaemin could make out a mop of brown hair sitting in the driver’s seat.

The blonde boy, Chenle, groaned. “Seriously? It wasn’t even that bad!” 

“Are you kidding me? You nearly got the both of you arrested for the second time today!” 

“Oh yeah? Well, at least I wasn’t late, unlike you with the door.” Chenle bent down and helped Jaemin up off the floor.

“Ok, Chenle we get it. You are the best hacker on the team. I warned you that I might have some difficulty.”

“Then why couldn’t you let me stay and do the hacking and get someone else to go in and get him?” He pointed to Jaemin. 

“Because Chenle, for the millionth time, Donghyuck is resting from last night, Jeno is too obvious looking, Renjun didn’t want to go and you know why we can’t take Jisung. And also, didn’t you just say it was fun doing re-con?”

“Ugh, whatever.” Chenle huffed, planting himself in the passenger seat. 

Jaemin couldn’t take it anymore. “Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. Can someone explain to me what the fuck is going on here? Who are you,” he pointed to Chenle, “who are you,” he pointed at the brown-haired male, “and who are these Yeesung and Longjin people? Why am I in a van that is travelling at the speed of light, where are we going, and most importantly, why am I here?”

“Dude, slow down you are going to give yourself an aneurysm.” The brown-haired male laughed. “Don’t worry, everything will be explained back at the base, but for now, my name is Mark, you have already met Chenle, and we have just busted your sorry ass out of a potential six-month stint in juvie.”

“Oh, my god.” Jaemin sunk to the floor again. He felt like his head was going to explode. 

_All because of a mother fucking X-BOX._

~

 

 **Name:** Mark Lee

 **DOB:** 02-08-1999

 **Nationality:** Korean-Canadian

 **Enlistment Period:** 20 years

 **Skills:** Language specialist, weapons specialist, weapon manufacturing, organisation and mission planning

 **Weapons:** Handguns

 **Extra:**  
\- Leader  
\- U and 127 correspondent  
\- Fluent in 11 languages  
\- Designated driver  
\- Related to Jaehyun (U, 127). Raised by NCT  
\- Cool

 

~

 

The rest of the car journey was mostly silent, save for a few strange noises coming from Chenle’s direction (he was playing a game on his phone). Jaemin had no idea where the car was going but judging by the number of turns they were making and the direction in which they had started driving they were heading East… or South… or South-East – ok the point was he didn’t know anymore. 

“Ok, we are here.” Mark yanked at the handbrake. The van came to an abrupt stop, throwing Jaemin around for like the twentieth time that journey. “Chenle you know what to do.” Mark got out of the car. Chenle grinned maliciously and climbed over the seat and into the back of the van. He was holding a strip of black cloth in his hands.

“Ok, Jaemin I am going to need you to stay still for this part.” The blonde approached, extending the black fabric towards Jaemin’s eyes. 

“Nonononono you are not doing that Chenle.” He shrunk even further into the corner. 

“Come on man, it’s just for safety precautions. We can’t let you know where we are yet.”

“Well, as long as it’s _just_ for safety precautions.” He relaxed, allowing Chenle to tie the blindfold gently around his eyes. Jaemin couldn’t help but notice how he was extra careful when adjusting the fabric over his bruised cheek. 

“Jesus Jaemin! Who do you think we are!? We weren’t going to try anything funny on you!” Even though Jaemin couldn’t see him, he knew Chenle would be rolling his eyes.

“Well, I haven’t exactly been told what is going on yet so I am preparing myself for the worst.” 

Chenle grunted. “Just get up, the others are waiting.” He was pulled out of the car, up several flights of stairs and eventually thrust onto something soft. A couch by the feel of it.  
Hands reached around the back of his head and gently untied the blindfold – Chenle. 

The room was well lit, furnished with mismatched armchairs and an oddly large variety of lamps. The blinds were drawn, but Jaemin could tell that it was dark outside. 

“Na Jaemin.” Across the room, a brown-haired male was sitting in a pink chair. He recognised the voice as Mark from earlier. He was good-looking, in a western sort of way, young too – around 20 or so. He carried himself with an air of maturity like he had been exposed to the hardships of the world at too young an age.

“That would be me.” He knew that this probably wasn’t the time for humour, but it was his only coping mechanism available right now (the other was punching stuff, but he doubted that it would help the situation).  
Mark’s lips twitched, a ghost of a smile prying at the corners of his professional image. He schooled himself back into neutral before continuing. “I am sure you are confused, and I promise all will be explained soon, we are just waiting for the others. Chenle can you call them?” 

The blonde nodded, pulling out his phone again. he pressed the screen a couple of times before raising it to his mouth. “All team come to the main meeting space immediately.”

Jaemin was deeply concerned about the fact that he oddly wasn’t scared. Like, this was a mafia, gang, organised group of vigilantes – whatever they called themselves. Any normal person would be scared shitless, terrified for their life. I mean the chance of making it out of the compound alive and unharmed was slim to none. But hey, unless you counted Marks insane driving, they hadn’t tried to harm him, _yet._

A few minutes passed before a thud of shoes sounded from outside the door. Two figures entered the room, door opening with a loud bang.  
“Mark, what’s wrong? I heard Chenle’s announcement…” The boy trailed off when he noticed Jaemin sitting on the couch. A smile stretched across his face. “So, you got him huh?”  
The male was tall, with inky hair and a stupidly handsome face. Jaemin wasn’t normally the shy type, but this Greek-god of a boy may or may not have left him feeling a little bit winded. His smile was adorable too, eyes curving into pretty crescents. 

“Ah yes, Jeno,” Mark nodded in greeting, “meet Jaemin. We haven’t given him the rundown yet because we wanted the rent of the team to be here.” 

“This is the one you were stalking for two months?” The other newcomer piped up. He was also tall, with a long, lean body and a shock of silver hair. His face could have been described as cute if it wasn’t for the scar running from the centre of his right eyebrow down to his eye. The eye itself was an acidic blue colour, glowing unnaturally. The pupil was dilating, like the zoom on a camera. _What the hell?_

“Yes, Jisung, this is the one. Now, where are Renjun and Hyuck?”

Jisung shrugged, metallic eye still fixed on Jaemin’s face. “Hyuck is still asleep and Renjun didn’t want to come again.” 

“Renjun, seriously?” Mark groaned, turning to Jeno. “Can you do anything?” 

He shook his head, shooting Mark an apologetic look. “No sorry. He was having a rough time after last night and he really needs the time alone to work out his frustrations.”

“He has destroyed another punching bag, hasn’t he?”

“Pretty much, yes.”

“Chenle, put in another order for punching bags. We will have to use some of the money Hyuck made last night to cover the costs. For now, let’s just do the introduction without them. Jaemin will have to meet them during the tour or something.”  
He turned to Jaemin, who was frozen to the couch. He was struggling to process everything that was going on.  
“Ok Jaemin, welcome to the Dream headquarters. This is Jeno and Jisung,” he gestured to the two other males. Jeno gave him a quick wave and Jisung nodded his head curtly. “Donghyuck and Renjun aren’t with us right now but you will meet them later.”

“I got that much.” Jaemin ran his hands through his hair. “Just tell me everything, but slowly. I am not sure if my brain can handle too much information at once.” 

“Don’t worry if you can’t get it all at first, I know it’s a lot to take in.” Jeno had come to sit down next to Jaemin and was patting his shoulder reassuringly. 

Mark leant forward in his chair, “Dream is a sub-unit of the syndicate NCT. We are an extension of them, but for the most part, we run things by ourselves. NCT itself is split into two other units, U and 127 who handle international operations and high profile cases. Dream takes care of everything that happens in Seoul. Sometimes if the case requires it, some of us will be called to assist them on missions, mostly Hyuck and I, but every now and again there will be a Code Black where everyone from all the units come together. That has only happened once in the last 5 years though so don’t worry too much about that.”

“Ok, I think I got it so far. You guys are like a gang?”

Mark grinned. “We prefer vigilante organisation, but yes, we are essentially a gang.”

“Sooo you guys like deal drugs and shoot people when they don’t do what you want?” Jaemin eyed everyone suspiciously, searching for any concealed weapons that could be used against him. 

“Calm down Jaemin, only Chenle and I have guns right now, and we have no intention of using them. And no, we don’t quite operate like that. NCT is an organisation dedicated to bringing justice and equality. We receive offers from clients to help them solve their problems. The majority of the time it involves breaking up crime rings, stopping human trafficking etcetera. We also give the majority of our spoils to those who need it.” 

“Ohh, like Robin Hood.”  
“Yes, I guess you could say that.” Mark chuckled again. “Not all criminals are bad, Jaemin.”

Jaemin nodded “I still don’t get why you wanted me though.” 

“Well, we have been looking for another member to join our team for a while now. We needed one more member in order to have the perfect number of people for missions and NCT was threatening to send one of the U members to join our team. He is a good guy, but doesn’t quite fit the team dynamic.”  
“That’s a nice way of saying Lucas is a freaking crackhead,” Chenle interjected.

“Chenle!” Jeno scolded. 

“Anyways…” Mark shot Chenle a withering glare, “we wanted to look for someone ourselves. Jeno actually found you, when he was running a drop mission a few months back.” 

“You were scaling a building with your two friends. It was pretty impressive so I told Mark. Chenle has been tracking you ever since.” Jeno gave him a blinding smile.

“I feel honoured?”  
“So, you accept?” Jeno looked at him with wide puppy eyes.

“Accept what?” Jaemin turned to Mark.

“The offer to join Dream.” 

Jaemin’s jaw dropped. He supposed he should have seen it coming but the question still hit him like a ton of bricks when it was asked. 

“I can give you some time to think but until you make your decision I can’t let you leave the compound. Is there anything we can do for you? Shower? Hot drink?” 

“U-umm a shower would be great.” Nothing like mulling over the most important decision of his young life under hot running water – or just attempt to figure out why he was even considering joining Dream as an option.

“Jeno, can you lend him some of your clothes, they should fit alright.” The black-haired male nodded.

“Come with me, I will show you where the showers are.” Jeno led him out of the room. From the outside the room, Jaemin could hear Mark talking again.

_“So how did I do?”_

_“You were super professional Mark, I would have been so intimidated if I were him.”_ Chenle commented sarcastically.

Beside him, Jeno chuckled. “Sorry about that, we are an odd bunch but we make it work. If you do end up joining us, it is like being part of a big dysfunctional family.  
_Family._ Jaemin hadn’t heard that word in a long time. How long had it been since he got kicked out? Five years? He shuddered slightly. 

“Well, here we are. I will leave some clothes for you outside the door. Take as much time as you need. When you are done just head back down that hallway, turn right and then left and the meeting room is the second door down. We will be waiting for you there.” Jeno smiled again. “Good luck with your decision. Whatever you choose, I am happy I met you Na Jaemin.” He turned on his heel and scurried out of the room, leaving Jaemin standing on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. _This is one weird ass day._

He wallowed in the steam, relishing the hot jet of water running down his back. Jaemin knew he should be getting out as soon as possible, find Chan and Minho, kick their ass for ditching him and then forget that this whole day ever happened.  
He didn’t know why, but something in his chest was telling him to stay. Maybe it was the idea of potentially having a family again, finally belonging to something. Being able to do good for others rather than himself for once. 

No, he couldn’t. He didn’t belong in something like Dream. 

 

~

 

 **Name:** Lee Jeno 

**DOB:** 23-04-2000

 **Nationality:** Korean 

**Enlistment Period:** 5 years

 **Skills:** Espionage, stealth and subterfuge, weaponist, deception and theft 

**Weapons:** Knives, small firearms

 **Extra:**  
\- Breaking and entering  
\- All-rounder  
\- Don’t let him cook  
\- Can be used for seduction and stealing from female targets  
\- Nice guy

 

~

 

Jaemin tugged on the jeans Jeno had left him, aggressively shoving his feet down the pant legs. His mind was made up. Marching down the long hallway back to the meeting room Jaemin rehearsed his speech in his head; he was going to walk in there and politely but firmly tell them that he wanted to leave. 

He pushed open the door.  
“Jaemin! Good to see that the clothes fit.” Jeno looked up from the tablet in his lap, face lit up like a mother-effing Christmas tree. Jaemin’s resolve crumbled. _So much for leaving._ Jaemin couldn’t believe that he was staying in a GANG because of a pretty boy. _Jaemin you are the dumbest piece of shit ever to exist._

“So Jaemin, what did you decide.”

He looked at Jeno again. “I think… I want to stay. It’s not like I have much to go back to anyways.” 

“Thank god. I really didn’t want Chenle to have to use any of his amnesia serum today.” Mark grinned.

“WHAT?!” Jaemin looked over at Chenle, who was grinning like a hyena. 

“It’s a precautionary tool. Works like a dream and is a bitch to manufacture.” He commented proudly. 

“You make it?” 

“164 IQ, remember?” Chenle tapped his forehead. “We have state of the art labs here in the compound. You will get to see them later.”

“We are happy glad to have you on the team.” Mark got up and shook Jaemin’s hand. “We will start with the tour and introduce you to the rest of the members, get you settled. Tomorrow we will do a skills assessment and then introduce you to the rest of NCT.” 

Jaemin nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Jeno, if you will.” Mark nodded at the male.

“Come on! This will be fun!” Jeno flashed a smile again as he held open the door for Jaemin. He led Jaemin through the maze of corridors, educating him on the basic history and rules of the base.  
“Here we have the kitchens and living space.” Jeno took them into a large room, with a kitchen on one wall and a living room on the other. There was a large TV on one wall and more assorted furniture. Everything was extremely neat considering it was home to six teenage guys. A tanned male with rust-coloured hair was sitting on the kitchen counter eating a sandwich. He had cat-like eyes and a delicate face. “Ah, Hyuck, you are awake!” Jeno exclaimed. “Meet Jaemin, the newest Dream recruit.”

The boy smiled and jumped off the counter, finishing the last of his sandwich as he walked over. “Finally,” he said around a mouthful of food, “it’s been years since anyone new joined! I’m Donghyuck, but everyone calls me Hyuck.”

“Jaemin.” He shook the male’s hand. “What do you do?” 

“What do I do?” Donghyuck raised an eyebrow at Jeno, who shrugged.

“Oh, like, what’s your role? I think Mark must be the leader and I am assuming that Chenle is a hacker of some variety – a mad scientist too apparently. What do you do?”

“Ohh.” Hyuck laughed, high and sweet. “I am the group’s doctor. I moonlight as a con-artist when we need money. It’s a long story, you will see soon.” 

“Cool. And what do you do?” He turned to Jeno.

“I am kinda like the spy of the group. Most of the time I break into the premises and scope everything out or steal things if it is needed. Sometimes I help Hyuck out with the conning if we are really broke.” 

“Ah.” 

“Well, we should probably get on with the tour. See you Hyuck.” Jeno waved and started walking out of the room.

“See you around?” Jaemin smiled at the cinnamon boy.

“Definitely.” 

Jaemin followed Jeno out. They walked some more, Jeno leading him through the labs where Jisung and Chenle were mixing chemicals. They waved through the glass doors. Jisung’s eye was glowing again. Jaemin couldn’t help but feel a little bit freaked out. 

“It’s the eye, isn’t it?” Jeno came up beside him. “It does take a bit of getting used to.”

“Why is he like that? It’s not natural, right?”

“Oh god no. I don’t think it humanly possible to have eyes that colour. No, it is bionic. Taeil and Johnny made it for him years ago when he joined the gang. Doyoung found him in a gutter, half-dead and missing his eye. No one knows what happened, except for maybe Chenle. They fixed him up and now he has half a brain made of metal. It’s quite cool actually and it makes him an amazing fighter. He must be the best sniper in the northern hemisphere thanks to the upgrade.”

“Woah.” Jaemin breathed. 

“I know. Anyway, let’s move on. I still have to show you the dorms and the training rooms, and get you settled in.”

 

~

 

 **Name:** Lee Donghyuck a.k.a Haechan

 **DOB:** 06-06-2000

 **Nationality:** Korean 

**Enlistment Period:** 1.5 years 

**Skills:** Medicine and apothecary, deception and theft 

**Weapons:** Electric whip, knives

 **Extra:**  
\- Studies medicine  
\- Seduction and stealing, mostly male targets  
\- Proficient fighter, good with a whip  
\- Must be protected, a valuable asset  
\- Everyone loves him  
\- Pretty

 

~

 

 **Name:** Park Jisung

 **DOB:** 05-02-2002

 **Nationality:** Korean 

**Enlistment Period:** 7 years

 **Skills:** Advanced eyesight, advanced reflexes, inbuilt targeting systems, sniping, weapons specialist

 **Weapons:** Sniper rifles (Barret M28)

 **Extra:**  
\- Bionic eye and internal CPU  
\- Never misses a shot  
\- Reserved, seems to have an attachment to Chenle  
\- No, he is not terminator  
\- Once passed out because a cockroach ran over his leg 

 

~

 

“Welcome to the training rooms.” Jeno thrust open the floor-to-ceiling doors and led them into an enormous room. _You could fit a whole football field in here._ Jaemin stared up in wonder at the expansive room. the lighting was low, the only light sources coming from sconces set deep into the walls. Along one wall there were weapon racks and target boards, with various other variety of equipment scattered around the room. Even the floor was springy.  
Jaemin hopped across it, jumping over the painted-on lines. “This place is epic!” he cried.

“I know right! We spend most of our time in here, training and working out. We have pretty much every form of athletic and fighting equipment under the sun here, as well as some extra ones that Chenle and Mark made together.”

“Dude this is sick.” Jaemin walked over to a wooden rack in the corner. On it, there was a variety of thin swords, various lengths and thicknesses, as well as a bamboo pole and some knives. He reached out to grab the pommel of a sword.

“Jaemin, I wouldn’t touch those if I were you,” Jeno called in warning. 

“Don’t worry, I am not going to break anything.” He waved the sword around. “Look at me go Jeno! I am freaking Jackie Chan or something.” 

“Jaemin put it down, seriously I-”

A knife thudded into the wall a few inches away from Jaemin’s head. From somewhere in the darkness, a voice hissed. “Put the sword down. Now.”  
Jaemin obeyed, putting the weapon back as quickly as he could without damaging anything. 

“Renjun! Was that really necessary?” Jeno sighed. “He didn’t know.”

“Yes, but he should have listened to you.” A lithe figure emerged from the darkness. The male was short, with shiny dark hair and clad in all black leather. His face was elegant and refined, with sloping cheekbones and piercing dark eyes. Jaemin felt his knees go weak. _What is it with this gang? Are they all male models or something?_

“I am sorry. They just looked so cool and I couldn’t help it.” Jaemin muttered sheepishly.

“Well next time, don’t.” Renjun walked over the rack and picked up the bamboo rod before proceeding to attack a wooden training machine. 

Jaemin turned to Jeno, blushing profusely. Jeno just smiled. “Don’t worry. He is a bit prickly at first, but he is actually really sweet on the inside.” Across the room, Renjun had managed to snap an arm off the training equipment with his pole. Jeno flinched. “Deep, deep, deep on the inside.  
He is like that with most people anyways. Mark always lets him do what he wants for the most part. Besides, he is possessive and you touched his personal weapons.  
He is the best fighter I have ever seen. You will probably be trained by him.”  
Renjun gave up on the equipment, instead, moving through a sequence of kicks and flips, thrusting the bamboo rod at invisible enemies. It was like watching a panther move, calculated and powerful, graceful and mysterious – a living shadow.  
“Beautiful, isn’t he?” Jeno commented fondly. Jaemin nodded.  
Renjun stopped moving and met eyes with Jeno across the gym, panting hard. Jeno turned to Jaemin. “I will be right back, stay here and don’t touch _anything_.” He walked over to the warrior. Something Renjun’s posture changed, relaxing ever so slightly. Jeno reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, talking in hushed tones. Jaemin felt like he was intruding on something intimate, something private.  
After a while, Jeno came back over. “Let’s leave him alone now.” He pulled Jaemin out by the elbow. Jaemin couldn’t help but steal one last glance at Renjun. The male was now sitting on the floor, cross-legged with his eyes closed, like he was meditating. Without the intensity of his gaze, he looked soft, serene almost. Jaemin shuddered.

 

~

 

 **Name:** Huang Renjun

 **DOB:** 23-03-2000

 **Nationality:** Chinese

 **Enlistment Period:** 4.5 years

 **Skills:** Advanced combat skills, high stamina, advanced reflexes

 **Weapons:** Katana, bamboo pole, knives, shuriken

 **Extra:**  
\- Learned and mastered every form of combat under the sun  
\- Comes from a long line of warriors, royal guard  
\- Cold appearance  
\- Likes to destroy punch bags  
\- Don’t leave him alone in the same room as Chenle for more than a minute

 

~

 

“And this,” Jeno pushed open the heavy wooden door, “is your room. It’s not much but NCT prefers practicality over pleasure.” 

Jaemin surveyed the room. It was simple but cosy, with sparse furniture and a single window. 

“It’s perfect, thank you.” He smiled at the raven-haired male.

“No problem,” Jeno grinned back, “you must be tired, so I will leave you to yourself. If you need anything my room is two doors down to the left. Just make sure you knock before coming in, okay?”

Jaemin nodded. “Got it. G’night Jeno.”

“Night Jaemin.” Jeno smiled softly before closing the door.

Jaemin walked over to the bed and flopped down onto it, shoes and all. The second his head hit the soft mattress he was overcome with a wave of exhaustion. Something about the Dream compound made him feel safe, allowing him to relax properly for the first time in what felt like years. _Maybe it’s the fact that I am sleeping next door to five Power Rangers and Terminator Jr._

He fell asleep that night, fully clothed, surrounded by a bunch of TRAINED CRIMINALS in a MAFIA COMPOUND, and he never felt better. After so many years of drifting around, every day spent wondering where he was going to sleep that night, what or if he would eat that day, it was nice to have the security that Dream provided, even if their actions were slightly less than commendable. He had never been one for following the rules anyway. 

_You have really done it now, Jaemin._


	2. Square Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaemin's first day

“Jaemin. Psst. Jaemin.” A finger prodded his un-injured cheek gently.

“Mmph.” Jaemin moaned, curling in on himself.

“Move over Chenle.” A different voice hissed, then a hard poke right onto his injured cheek.

“Owww!” Jaemin bolted up into a sitting position. Chenle and Jisung peered down at him from their position next to his bed.

“Ah, finally. Sorry about that Jaemin, but you really weren’t waking up and we have a lot to do today.” Chenle patted his shoulder apologetically. Beside him, Jisung nodded, icy eye staring right into Jaemin’s soul. “There are some spare clothes in the dresser. Get changed and meet us in the kitchen. You remember where that is right?” Jaemin nodded. “Great. Be down in five.”

Jaemin dragged himself out of bed and got changed quickly. When he entered the kitchen, he was immediately ambushed by Hyuck pressing an icepack to his bruised cheek.   
“You really should have done this yesterday.” The tanned male sighed. “You are going to have this killer bruise for at least a week.” 

“Awesome.” Jaemin winced at the sharp cold biting into his cheek. 

“Jaemin! How was your sleep? Come and have something to eat.” Mark waved at him from the kitchen counter. There was a large stack of steaming pancakes with Jaemin’s name written all over them in marks hands. “I am not the best cook, but hopefully they will suffice.” He smiled warmly. 

“They will be better than anything Jeno makes anyway.” Chenle took a seat next to Jaemin and forked a pancake onto his plate. “He wanted to make you breakfast this morning, but we had to ban him from the kitchen after he managed to set fire to the frying pan.” 

Jaemin laughed. “It’s the thought that counts, right?” He was flattered that Jeno had tried so hard to make him feel welcome.

“Yeah, I guess. If you want to die of food poisoning it’s on you though.” Donghyuck chuckled, wrapping an arm around Mark’s waist and nuzzling into his neck.   
Noticing Jaemin’s quizzical look, Mark blushed and moved away from Donghyuck’s embrace. 

“Baabe.” Hyuck whined. “He is going to find out eventually.” Mark just turned an even darker shade of scarlet. It was weird to see the usually professional Mark turn bashful under the younger male’s warm gaze. “Mark is my boyfriend.” Donghyuck grinned proudly. “He is just a bit shy about it.”

“Ahh, I see.” Jaemin nodded.

“What’s this about boyfriends?” Jeno strode through the door, eyes turned up into adorable half-moons. 

“Markhyuck over here was just explaining their whole… _deal._ ” Chenle pointed a thumb towards the couple. 

Jeno’s eyes widened. “Oo pancakes!” He deflected the conversation like a pro, instead, taking the seat on Jaemin’s other side and digging into the breakfast food. 

“We don’t talk about it much. Touchy subject.” Chenle mumbled around a mouthful of pancake. 

“Chenle close your mouth!” Hyuck scolded, to which the younger responded with an eye roll.

“Whatever Mum.” He shoved more food into his mouth. 

“Where are Jisung and Renjun?” Mark turned to Jeno.

“In the training room, setting up. Jun has been in there since 5 this morning.” 

Mark inhaled sharply. “Have you been having trouble getting him to sleep again?” 

Jeno nodded solemnly. “He only slept about two hours last night.” 

“Chenle can you make up some of that sleep serum again? I think we are going to need it. A lot of it.” The blonde nodded and scurried out of the room, still holding his plate of pancakes.

“Ok, now, Jaemin.” Mark was all seriousness again. “We are going to give you skills assessment today. I need you to try your best and answer all the questions as well as you can.”

“Is this a test? I didn’t need to study anything, did I?” Jaemin was suddenly 10x more alert. “I am telling you now that I dropped out of school at the beginning of freshman year, so if it is a knowledge test I am pretty much screwed.”  
Hyuck laughed. “Bro, chill. The majority of us didn’t even make it through middle school. I am pretty sure Renjun has never picked up a textbook in his life. We have Chenle for all that smart stuff.” 

“He didn’t graduate either though.” Jeno piped up.

“Besides the point.” Mark interrupted. “It’s not your usual knowledge test, don’t worry. We are just assessing your problem solving and instinctive skills, as well as your physicality.” 

“Ok.” 

_Should be easy enough, right?_

 

~

 

_Wrong, I was so wrong._

Jaemin wheezed as he ran length of the training room for the twenty-somethingth time. 

_Why does everything have to involve running?_

Along the side of the room, the Dream members were watching, silent. Mark was typing something into a tablet, observing in stern concentration. “Keep going.” He called out when Jaemin began to slow.   
His legs were going to drop off, or his lungs were going to explode, or both. Donghyuck was going to have a hard time trying to heal him after this ‘skills assessment’ (note: torture method) was over. This was _not_ what he had in mind when he joined the team. 

“Okay, that’s enough.” Mark finally called out. Jaemin collapsed to the floor. “5 minutes rest then we move on.”

After running came a rope climb, an obstacle course and a balance test, each as equally challenging as the last. Jaemin tried his best, but by the end, he was a hairs-breadth away from collapsing and never getting back up. _A knowledge test would have been a fucking walk in the park compared to this._

“Good job, Jaemin.” Mark stood over him. Jaemin was lying on the floor again, trying desperately to force air into his failing lungs. “Renjun, you’re up.” 

“WHhat?” He wheezed. Renjun stalked over a bamboo pole in hand. Jaemin stood on shaky legs as Chenle shoved another pole into his hands.

“Don’t worry Jaemin, it’s just a simple combat assessment. Renjun will go easy, won’t you?” He turned to the Chinese male. Renjun just glared back, eyes glinting with a dark malice. 

_This is it. I am going to die._

_At least I can say I was killed by a supermodel._

“Renjun.” Jeno called, voice filled with warning. 

“Yes, fine.” The smaller rolled his eyes.

“I don’t even know how to use one of these… things.” Jaemin whined, brandishing the pole in his hands. 

“That’s okay. We can do hand-to-hand if you prefer.” Renjun murmured quietly, tossing his pole aside. 

“I mean, I would prefer to skip this whole combat assessment altogether, but hand-to-hand will have to do.” Jaemin stretched his wobbly limbs. _This was not going to end well._

“That’s the spirit!” Mark grinned from the sidelines. “Three, two, one, go!” 

Renjun surged forward before Jaemin had even managed to register that the match had started. Less than a second later, he was lying on his back with Renjun’s knee on his chest and a forearm on his throat, slowly cutting off his air supply.  
Renjun’s face was mere inches away from his, and Jaemin could honestly say that he had never been more enamoured and terrified in his entire life.   
Hot puffs of air brushed across his cheekbones as Renjun panted lightly from the exertion. There was no warmth in the older male’s eyes. In fact, there was no trace of any emotion at all besides steely determination. Renjun was made for this; a living weapon. 

This repeated over and over, Mark counting down, Renjun moving faster than the speed of light and Jaemin finding himself in increasingly more unfavourable and painful positions.   
His whole body ached from being repeatedly being slammed into the ground by the smaller male. Renjun, on the other hand, hadn’t even broken a sweat. He looked almost bored. Shame built up in Jaemin’s chest. He knew he wasn’t the best fighter, but he was usually able to hold his own in a brawl. However, this tiny male had reduced him to chicken shit in one swoop of his perfectly toned body.

Mark must have had enough of seeing the newest Dream recruit being beat into a pulp because he signalled for Renjun to stop his advances. “That’s enough now, thank you Renjun.” He typed something into the tablet. 

“Bet you wish you didn’t recruit me now, huh.” Jaemin panted, clutching his side. He was 98% sure that one of his ribs was, in the least, fractured.

Mark waved a hand. “Nah, it wasn’t that bad. You should have seen Hyuck when he was tossed into the ring. He was fighting Chenle and he still managed to get knocked out.” He grinned playfully, nudging his boyfriend in the ribs. Donghyuck did not look impressed. 

“Wait, wait, wait. There was an option to fight Chenle?” Jaemin gasped, mouth agape. Next to him, Renjun smirked ever so slightly.

“Yes, but you never asked.” 

Chenle raised a hand. “I would like to add that I am not a bad fighter, thank you very much.”

“Chenle you somehow managed to give _yourself_ a black eye last time we sparred,” Jeno remarked from the corner. 

Chenle scoffed. “Jisung back me up here.” The blonde looked over to the youngest imploringly, whipping out his ~supposedly~ signature puppy eyes. 

“Mark Hyung said I am not allowed to tell lies Lele.” Jisung maintained his perfectly neutral poker face, earning himself a loud shriek and flying punch to the shoulder from an extremely miffed Chenle. 

Renjun sighed. “Can we get back to the topic at hand? We don’t have all day.” 

Mark nodded. “Yes, yes, sorry. The point is, Jaemin, you aren’t that bad. Nothing a bit of training can’t fix. Your mental assessments were all good, so you should have no problem with the rest. Go and get showered. We have to introduce you to NCT in two hours.” 

 

~

 

The room was silent. Mark was more serious than Jaemin had ever seen him. Even Chenle was solemn. They were all seated around a cold metal table in a room that Jaemin hadn’t been into before. Jeno whispered into his ear that it was the formal meeting room used for official matters such as this. There was a large, blank television screen on one wall. 

“Any moment now…” Mark murmured, checking his watch. “Now Jaemin, it’s okay if you are intimidated or uncomfortable. It’s always like that at first. Just remember don’t speak unless spoken to and let me handle _everything._ ” 

Jaemin nodded. The air was thick with anticipation. He wasn’t sure what was about to happen but he was sure as hell nervous. His leg bounced up and down under the table, a nervous habit he had picked up throughout the years. 

“Mark it’s happening.” Donghyuck pointed to the screen. ‘NCT’ was flashing across the screen in glowing green lettering.   
A face appeared on the screen. He was ridiculously handsome, with big doe eyes and jawline to kill, red hair perfectly styled. Jaemin’s self-esteem hit rock bottom for the millionth time in two days. 

“Mark.” The male stared out at them, vehemently eyeing every member in the room. 

“Taeyong sir, hello.” Mark stood and bowed, with the rest of Dream following suit. Jaemin awkwardly rose and copied, painfully aware that he was a few seconds out of sync with the rest of the members. 

“Report please.” Taeyong’s face was still expressionless. Jaemin gulped.

“We found and recruited the target that we have been tracing for the past two months. It was a successful and uneventful pick mission. His skills are competent. Good mental state and his physical isn't bad either. He will require training though. Renjun is already handling it.” A few chairs down, Renjun inclined his head slightly. “That is all sir.” Mark finished, bowing again. 

Taeyong nodded almost imperceptibly. “And you. Introduce yourself.” He looked directly at Jaemin. 

“Oh uh-” Mark pinched him under the table. He cleared his throat and began again. “My name is Na Jaemin, sir. 19 years old.” 

“Welcome Na Jaemin, to NCT. Here we expect you to follow the rules. I don’t want any funny shit, or there will be consequences. Understood?” 

“Yes, sir.” Jaemin bowed again for good measure. 

“Very good. I presume Mark has educated you on what we do here in NCT?” 

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“We expect you to work hard and uphold the standards of our team. Here we are a family, loyalty is the number one value. Are you sure you are ready for this Na Jaemin?” 

Nod. “Yes sir, I am sure.”

“If you let us down there will be consequences. We will do whatever is necessary to maintain the integrity of NCT.”

Nod. “I understand, sir.”

“Has he been Marked yet?” _Marked?_ Jaemin’s heart pounded. Underneath the table, Jeno squeezed his hand reassuringly, still looking directly ahead. 

Mark shook his head. “No sir, not yet. We were planning to do it after the introduction.”

“Very well. That will be all. Remember, Neo to the world.” 

“Neo to the world.” Dream echoed as the screen turned black, bowing so deeply that their hair brushed the metallic surface of the table. 

The second the video call ended, the blanket of solemnity dropped. The team let out a collective sigh of relief.   
“Woo, glad that’s over.” Chenle leant back in his chair, face returning to its usual grin. “Yongie was a lot more freaky than usual, aye.”

“Yuta probably pissed him off beforehand.” Mark raked a hand through his hair. “You all good Jaemin?” 

“I- I think so…” Jaemin trailed off. He realised that he had barely breathed the entire call and now he was struggling to regain his composure.

“I promise these calls get easier. Most of the time we don’t even talk to Taeyong – it’s mostly Doyoung or Jaehyun that we correspond with.” Jeno piped up from beside Jaemin, smiling warmly. 

“Ah, I see.” Jaemin nodded. Something Taeyong had said was pushing at the corners of his mind. “By the way, what did he mean by ‘Marked?’” 

“Oh… that.” Mark looked uncomfortable. Fortunately, Donghyuck took over, gently taking his 

“Being Marked is where we tattoo the NCT and Dream insignia onto you. To show that you are a part of our team.”

“T-tattoo?” Jaemin shuddered. 

“Hurts like a bitch too,” Renjun muttered darkly from his corner. Jeno gave him a reproachful stare.

“If it helps, you get to pick where you want it on your body-” Donghyuck kept his tone light, attempting to relieve the shock that news of ‘the Mark’ gave Jaemin.

“Oh yeah, that makes the fact that I am getting an unwanted tattoo 100 times better.” Jaemin sighed. “Whatever, let’s get this shit through with.”

 

~

 

“Jaemin I am going to need you to stay very still for me, okay? This part of the body is particularly sensitive.” Hyuck was poised above Jaemin with a tattoo gun in hand. He had chosen to have ‘the Mark’ put just below his left collarbone, small and fine. 

“It’s going to look really nice there Jaemin.” Jeno had commented positively when he had finally made his decision, giving his hand a tight squeeze. “I will be here for you through the whole process.”   
Renjun stormed out of the room. Jeno stared forlornly at the door that the Chinese male had just exited from, but said simply: “I will talk to him later.”

Jaemin exhaled deeply as he lay back on the bed in Donghyuck’s operation room, holding his breath as the needle crept closer to his bare skin. 

Renjun was right, it _did_ hurt like a bitch. The feeling of the needle drumming into his collarbone was hardly pleasant, but Jeno’s hand in his kept Jaemin from whimpering in pain on more than one occasion. The finished result was two small symbols – an intricate pattern that incorporated N, C and T layered on top of one another, and a small cloud with a horizontal line through the centre.  
Jaemin actually quite liked the way they looked. Donghyuck had done a good job and the line work was delicate and neat. 

“Ok so you are going to need to put this ointment on it twice a day after washing and make sure not to cover it with anything heavily scented or super chemically – you could have an allergic reaction.” Donghyuck handed him a plastic container filled with a thick, yellowish balm.   
Jaemin thought it smelt like ass (don’t ask him how he knew what ass smells like, he just did). 

“Got it, thanks doc.” Jaemin winked and gave the tanned male a small salute. 

“Come on Jaemin, we have a lot of work to do to get you properly initiated into Dream.” Jeno tugged on his sleeve, pulling him towards the door. 

 

~

 

“Right. This is a telecom. We all have one.” Chenle handed him what appeared to be a regular mobile phone.

“Isn’t this just a phone?” Jaemin turned it over, searching for any distinguishing features. 

“ _No,_ it’s a _telecom._ ” Chenle corrected.  
Jaemin gave him a quizzical look.   
“Ok fine, it’s a phone with a few extra features and a new, fancy name.” The blonde rolled his eyes. “You will learn how to use it as you go along, but for now, this is the message application, this is the emergency alarm – don’t press that one unless you really need help – and this is the self-destruct button.” 

“Self-destruct?!”

“What? We have a lot of important information on these things. Can’t let them fall into enemy hands.” Chenle grinned mirthfully. 

“Huh, weird. But cool.”   
“I know, right? Anyways, you have to go and get your kit and pick a weapon. Jeno and Jisung are waiting for you outside the door.” Chenle turned away from him, typing a few things into a tablet that he produced from a nearby workbench.

Jaemin nodded, getting the feeling that Chenle was dismissing him. _Cocky bastard._

He was an honest bastard, though. 

Sure enough, the second he stepped out the door he was met with a blinding smile and an acidic blue stare. 

“Hey.” 

 

~

There was a loud whistling sound as the arrow flew through the air. Jaemin jerked backwards from the force of the kickback that the crossbow gave him as it released the arrow into the air.   
His aim was completely off, arrow thudding into the wall of the training room several meters away from the large target.

“No, again,” Renjun grunted from behind him. 

He tried again, this time failing to shoot the arrow at all. He looked down in disappointment at the large weapon in his arms. 

Renjun said nothing, instead, walking forwards and taking the crossbow from him and putting it back into its spot on the wall of weapons.

“Here.” He pulled a small handgun down and thrust it into Jaemin’s hands. “Shoot it. Now.”   
He had fired a gun once or twice, so he knew the basics, but Renjun’s unnerving presence was making him sweat. 

_BANG_

The bullet sound cracked through the training room, causing Jaemin to lose focus and allowing the gun to rebound straight into his nose. He collapsed onto the floor gripping his face. It didn’t feel broken, but his nose was spurting enough blood to make him feel light-headed. Renjun just stood there, unmoving. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Jaemin pinched his nose bridge and tipped his head back.

Renjun ignored him again, picking the gun up off the floor and putting back onto the rack. 

“YAH! Mother never taught that you that’s it's rude to ignore someone when they are talking to you!?” Jaemin spat.   
He was sick and tired of Renjun treating him like shit, no matter what excuses Jeno gave for his behaviour.   
“I know I am not exactly exemplary at this whole _gang_ business, but that doesn’t give you the right to look down on me like you do! I have only been here, like, two days and you haven’t said one thing even remotely civil to me! What did I do to you huh?” He had gotten up off the floor and was now standing over Renjun, using his superior height to look down upon the smaller male. Throughout Jaemin’s entire rant, the smaller male had stood in complete silence, boredom colouring his annoyingly perfect features. 

“Donghyuck can help you with your nose.” Was all Renjun said before striding out of the room, slamming the door as he left.

“AGH!” Jaemin screamed in exasperation and punched the nearest object to him, which happened to be a wooden sparring machine. 

_Just my luck,_ Jaemin thought bitterly as he clutched his throbbing hand to his chest. 

_Fuck you, Huang Renjun. Fuck. You._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember to leave kudos and comments if you enjoy <3


	3. Children of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaemin's first mission

It had been one month since Jaemin had joined Dream. His tattoo was almost healed and he could now successfully run twenty laps of the training room without throwing up.   
He had even learned how to fire a gun. No thanks to Renjun (that’s right. He was still bitter).   
Jisung had taken over as Jaemin’s trainer much to Marks disappointment. There had been many lectures about the importance of teamwork and all that jazz but in the end, the leader finally gave up and dismissed Renjun from the task. 

Jisung was a good teacher. Once Jaemin had gotten over the shock of the younger male’s eye, he began to appreciate Jisung as a person. He was funny and awkward and despite his tough appearance, a huge chicken. The number of times that Jaemin has to go and fetch Chenle after Jisung had scaled a wall because he thought he had seen a bug had gone through the roof. The blonde was always able to coax him down.   
In return for Jisung’s awesome coaching, he pretended not to notice Chenle sneaking into Jisung’s bedroom late one night when Jaemin was up for a bathroom break. 

_Nightmares my ass._

One day, in the middle of sparring practice with Jisung, Jeno sprinted into the room, door opening with a loud bang.

“Mark… mission… meeting… now.” He panted. For someone who could climb a building with one hand tied behind his back, Jeno wasn’t very fit.

They raced into the meeting room. The rest of the team was already inside, with Mark pacing the length of the room and Renjun sharpening the blade of one of his swords in the corner. 

Mark looked up. “Ah good, you’re here. Taeyong just sent through an emergency mission and we are nowhere near prepared for it.” He sounded frantic. Mark was never frantic. 

“Woah, woah Mark. Slow down, just explain what is going on calmly.” Donghyuck soothed, rubbing a hand down the perplexed leader's arm. 

“Okay, so we have a drop mission tomorrow night. 127 is sending over 15 kilos worth of methamphetamines that they lifted from a crime den in Busan and they need someone to drop it so the government operatives can come and deal with it. They have already sent an anonymous tip-off over to the police. I tried to see if they could get one of their own operatives to do it but Yuta and Winwin, the usual runners are being shipped off to Costa Rico with the rest of NCT in order to sort out some international affairs. That leaves us to do the dirty work.” Mark carded his fingers through his hair, causing it to stick up at odd angles.  
“We don’t have the resources to do the drop successfully without the government finding out who we are, so we are going to have to do a club run tonight to get the funding. Jeno I am sorry but you are going to have to be involved in this one, we really need to get as much money as we can in a short time frame if we want to make this mission.” 

Jeno gulped but nodded. Across the room, Renjun’s head snapped up. “Another club run? You know what happened last time we did that. You can’t send him in there again!” He was brandishing his katana threateningly. 

Mark held out a placating hand. “I know Jun, but this is the only way we are going to be able to do the mission.” 

“I don’t care! Fuck the mission. Jeno is not going in for another run. Hyuck is perfectly capable of getting enough on his own!”

“Renjun.” Jeno’s voice was soft but adamant. “I need to do this. We won’t make the same mistake as last time.”

Renjun grit his teeth. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He stormed out of the room, slamming the door on exit. 

Jaemin raised a tentative hand. “If I may ask, what happened last time? Just so I can be prepared for tonight?” 

Everyone turned to stare at Jaemin. Hyuck was shaking his head incredulously, eyes wide in a silent attempt to stop Jaemin from talking. Too late. Silence clouded the room. 

Jeno cleared his throat. “I was raped.” His tone was light, casual almost. 

“Oh.” Jaemin choked out. He regretting asking now. The fact that someone would want to taint Jeno like that… it made Jaemin’s blood boil with fury. He made a mental note that if he ever found the culprit he would kill them without a second thought. 

“It’s fine, well, it’s not fine, but it was a long time ago. I am stronger now. Renjun… Renjun is protective.” He mumbled, looking down at his feet

“Speaking of, you probably should…,” Mark jerked his head towards the door, “you know.”

Jeno nodded and left the room. 

“Right, Chenle, come with me – we need to plan. Jisung and Hyuck, get everything you need ready. This is going to be a long night.” Mark looked out the window, jaw set with grim determination.

 

~

 

Mark parked the van a block away from the nightclub. Chenle immediately began typing rapidly into his three laptops as he hacked into the club’s security cameras.  
Mark distributed minuscule black earpieces for the team to communicate with.  
“Okay so does everyone understand the plan? Jisung I need you to get into position first. There is a ventilation system in the roof that you can access from the outside. You should have a clear shot of the club floor from in there. Good luck and stay safe.” The youngest nodded and ran out of the van, giving everyone a smile and a salute before he left.   
“Has everyone else got their IDs?”   
The four remaining agents flashed their counterfeit IDs, complete with fake ages and made up names. 

“Jeno, Donghyuck, the targets are all located on the balcony level of the club. I have sent through the details of each target into your telecoms. Try and get your hands on as much stuff as you can – I’m talking wallets, jewellery, weapons – the lot.” Chenle said without looking up from his computers. 

“Renjun and Jaemin. Stay separate and don’t do anything stupid. If there is any sign of danger at all, you must act. We are _not_ having a repeat of last March. I am going to ask you to put aside your differences for the sake of the mission.” Mark pleaded.

Renjun huffed. “For Jeno.”

 

~

 

The club was teeming, from lowlife scum to the rich and beautiful. Everyone was out to play tonight. 

The four had split up as soon as they had entered the club, Hyuck and Jeno heading for the balcony level and Renjun and Jaemin moving into the mass of people on the dance floor. Jaemin watched as Jeno and Donghyuck shed their dark jackets, revealing tantalizing outfits underneath. Their skin shone under the strobe lighting, well-defined muscles and smoky eyes attracting more than a few hungry stares from the aristocratic crowd.   
Across the floor, Jaemin found Renjun also staring, eyes filled with murderous rage at the sight of three scantily-clad women running their taloned hands down Jeno’s torso.   
The raven-haired male was a natural, drawing all eyes to him as he walked by. Donghyuck wasn’t far behind, opting to plant himself in the lap of a pot-bellied man with about six-too-many gold chains, eyes simmering with charm as he used his mouth to suck the bejewelled rings off the man’s fat fingers. 

Jaemin felt sick watching his team members use their bodies as bait. He wanted nothing more than to march up to that balcony and rip the filthy hands off his members. He felt the cold steel of his gun bite into his back. It would be so easy to pull it out and aim… 

A voice crackled through the earpiece. “Is everything okay? Do you have eyes?” 

“I have eyes. They have got at least $10,000 worth of stuff each.” Jisung’s voice responded. 

“Half an hour more and we will pull them out,” Mark ordered. 

“I have a bad feeling.” It was Renjun’s voice this time. “I am going up there.” 

“Renjun don’t do it. You will compromise the whole mission.” 

“Sorry, Mark. I need to protect him.” There was a flash of steel across the club floor as Renjun palmed his knife. 

“HUANG RENJUN DON’T YOU DO IT,” Jaemin screamed into the earpiece, running towards the smaller male.   
Renjun’s eyes widened as he noticed Jaemin flying towards him. He wasn’t able to move quick enough, though, because the next moment Jaemin had flung himself on top of Renjun, using his body weight to tackle him to the ground.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!” Renjun yelled over the deafening music of the club.

“STOPPING YOU FROM DOING SOMETHING STUPID!” Jaemin screamed back, refusing to let the other move. 

“I NEED TO HELP HIM!” 

“RENJUN HE CAN HANDLE HIMSELF!” Jaemin didn’t like it either, especially after hearing what happened to Jeno last time he went on a club run, but this was not the time for stupidity. 

“No,” Renjun’s voice was smaller this time, gaze weakening, “it’s my fault. If something happens to him… UGH JUST GET OFF ME!” Steel flashed and suddenly there was a blade pressed against Jaemin’s throat.   
“Renjun,” Jaemin whispered. “Stop.” 

“Not until you let me help him.” His black eyes glittered with hostility. 

“He isn’t in any danger Renjun! Jisung would let us know!” Jaemin was panicking a bit now, as Renjun’s blade continue to press harder into his neck. There was a hot sting as it drew blood. 

As if by magic, Jisung’s voice hissed through the earpiece: “They are on the move. Both scored big and they can’t hide any more goods. On route to the rendezvous point.” 

Jaemin shot Renjun an ‘I-told-you-so’ look as he stood up, rubbing his neck. “Let’s go.”

 

Back at the van, Mark and Chenle were helping Jeno and Donghyuck with their stolen goods.   
Jisung was there too, packing away his rifle. 

“Good work everyone. Get in, we have to get out of here before anyone notices that something is missing.” 

Hyuck shuffled closer to Jaemin. “Your neck is bleeding, let me look.” The male gently pressed the afflicted area, assessing the damage. “Nothing serious. How did it happen?” 

Jaemin flicked his eyes over to Renjun and back to Donghyuck. “I bumped into a waiter and cut myself on the broken glass from the cups.” 

“That’s weird.” Donghyuck shrugged. “I will clean it and give you a bandage back at base. It’s not urgent.”

“Thanks, Hyuck. Good job out there by the way. I know it’s not easy for you. Both of you.” He eyed Jeno across the van. The male hadn’t said a single thing since they had left the club, completely ignoring Jaemin’s smile when they returned to the rendezvous point. 

Donghyuck shudders. “Don’t worry too much. We have to do what’s best for the team. If this wasn’t completely essential, trust me, we wouldn’t be doing it.”

 

~

 

Mark and Chenle locked themselves in the tech room the second they got back to the base, needing time to figure out how much the stolen goods were worth, and then sell them. It was probably going to take the rest of the night.

Donghyuck went straight to bed, choosing to sleep away the events of that night.   
Jisung had disappeared to god-knows-where to do whatever cyborgs do in their free time (in reality, he was in the weapons room putting away his sniper rifle and then waiting in Chenle’s room for the blonde boy to return).

Jeno had marched straight down to the training room, with Renjun hot on his heels. Jaemin was tempted to follow, but he was not in the mood to deal with an irate Renjun at this point in time. 

Instead, he went to the kitchen and sat on the counter. He had no intention of cooking anything, but something about the room was comforting to him. It reminded Jaemin of simpler times, of home, of a peaceful life before he went and fucked it up. 

He sat there for what felt like hours, head resting against the crockery cupboard, eyes closed, concentrating on the gentle whirr of the refrigerator and the steady drip of the kitchen sink. 

His first mission. Both a success and a disaster at the same time.   
He should have just told Hyuck about Renjun and the knife then and there – got him kicked out of the club or whatever. It would have been easier than dealing with him now. 

Whatever the hell Jeno saw in Renjun was lost on him. It was such a shame, Jeno was so genuine and kind, even after all that happened to him. Renjun, on the other hand, was full of spite. Jaemin admittedly didn’t know much about the Chinese male, but he couldn’t help that Renjun was utterly insufferable. He wanted to have as little to do with the male as possible.   
Jaemin couldn’t deny it though, he did feel something for Jeno. The older male was literally perfect as far as Jaemin was concerned – smart and brave and selfless, with good looks to boot. 

Renjun.  
Renjun was the problem. 

“All is fair in love and war.” He muttered to himself, chuckling darkly as he sat on the kitchen counter. 

“So, you _are_ crazy.” A cool voice called from the doorway. Renjun. Speak of the devil. “Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity you know.” 

“The fuck do you want, asshole?” Jaemin jumped down off the counter and started stalking over to Renjun. 

“I am not here to fight you Jaemin.” He said calmly, staring blankly with his stupid, emotionless expression.

“Then why are you here? Shouldn’t you be ‘protecting’ Jeno?” He spat over his shoulder as he turned back to the kitchen. 

“Ok listen up. I don’t like you, and you clearly don’t like me, but we both like Jeno. Don’t give me that look I am not an idiot.” Renjun crossed his arms at Jaemin’s hateful glare.

“Could have fooled me,” Jaemin muttered.

“As I was saying, we both care for Jeno. I would be telling you to leave him alone right now, but I have eyes and I can see that you make him happy. Unbelievably. I am doing this for the integrity of our team and for him, understood? I couldn’t give any less of a shit about you.”

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “Wow, what a caring individual.” 

“Shut your fat mouth for once and listen. You know nothing about me. Nothing about what I have been through.” Renjun marched forward, pressing a finger into Jaemin’s chest with every syllable that left his mouth. “But one thing that you should know is I hate being in debt, especially to trash like you.”

Jaemin scoffed. “Trash? Do you know the number of times I have heard Mark and the rest of Dream complain about your destructive habits?”

“I have my reasons Na Jaemin. It would do you some good to educate yourself for once in your life.” Renjun sighed and stuck out a reluctant hand. “I came to ask for a truce. For the team. For Jeno. And for not telling the team about what happened earlier.” 

Jaemin almost slapped the offered hand away, disgusted by the idea of having any constructive physical contact with the male. 

“Fine.” He fixed the smaller with his best withering glare. “We are still not friends, but I will be civil. For Jeno.” 

 

“Agreed.” 

They shook hands for less than a second before Renjun stomped out of the room. 

“Fuck you,” Jaemin whispered at the small back of the retreating male.

“Heard that dipshit,” Renjun called over his shoulder. 

Jaemin punched the cereal cabinet. 

 

~

 

“Good news everyone. The spoils from last night were worth $87 000.” Mark and Chenle strode into the meeting room, oddly chirpy despite the fact that they had been out all night cashing in the spoils and gathering the materials for the drop mission later that night. 

“We got enough ammo to last the rest of the month and there is still cash left over!” Chenle cheered, plonking down on the couch next to Jisung. 

“How is everyone feeling after last night?” Mark eyes each of the members individually, checking for any sign of discomfort. 

“We’re fine Mark, you should worry about yourself.” Donghyuck stepped forward. “You look like you haven’t slept for a week.” 

“I will sleep when this is all over. Chenle has given the both of us a caffeine injection so we should be good to go for the next 24 hours.” 

“What’s the plan then, oh valiant leader?” Jaemin piped up

“Well, we have a shit ton of work to do before tonight. I need everything ready to go by 9 this evening for the drop at 11. Chenle has texted you all your jobs for today and your details for the mission. We will reconvene again at 7 tonight. Understood?” Mark clapped loudly, signalling the end of the meeting before bouncing out of the room. 

“Jesus Chenle, how strong was that caffeine injection?” Donghyuck asked.

“Sorry, he insisted on a double dosage and you know how he gets when he wants something done,” Chenle whined. 

“Ugh, fine. I will make sure he hasn’t gone and blown up the compound or something.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes and ran out of the room after his hyper boyfriend. 

“It baffles me how they make it work.” Jaemin pondered out loud. 

“Lots of kissing,” Jisung mumbled from the corner, shuddering at a memory. 

“Gross.” Jaemin mused. 

 

~

 

“Everyone ready for round two?” Chenle cheered from the passenger seat of the van, a huge grin plastered across his face despite the solemnity of the situation. 

“Shut up Chenle.” Donghyuck called. 

“Everyone shut up. We are here.” Mark yelled from the driver’s seat. 

‘Here’ was a large, abandoned aircraft carrier, overrun with vines and sloppy graffiti, just visible over the tops of the forest surrounding them. It clearly hadn’t been in operation for decades. Mark got out of the car and opened up the back of the van. 

“Renjun I want you to trail Jeno and Jaemin when they go into the hanger to drop the drugs. Kill anything that isn’t NCT.” He hauled the vacuum-packed cube of narcotics closer to the edge of the van. “Jisung, you and Hyuck stay here with Chenle and me in case they need backup. We have at least two hours before the police come so we don’t have to rush, but speed should be a consideration.” 

Jaemin jumped off the back of the van, followed closely by Jeno. The pair lifted the package, sharing the weight equally. “You good Jeno?”

“Yep.” The older male grunted, adjusting to the added weight of the case. 

“Good luck guys. Remember, if anything happens, drop the drugs and run. We will come and get you in the van.” Mark gave them all a reassuring nod. 

“Thanks. See you on the other side.” Jaemin smiled.

The path towards the hanger was dark and uneven, with a wide river on one side of them and dense trees on the other. They walked slowly to avoid tripping, burdened by the weight of the drugs. 

“See anything Renjun?” Jeno whisper-yelled behind them to where Renjun was trailing, 10 meters away. 

“Nope.” 

“That’s good. They mustn’t be here yet.” Jaemin chose to think positively. 

“Mark, the hangar is in sight. We should be able to make the drop within the next 5 minutes.” Jeno whispered into the earpiece.

“Good, keep going guys.”

The inside of the warehouse was equally as dark as the path leading up to it. There were a few skeletons of ancient aeroplanes scattered throughout space. _Plenty of space for government operatives to hide._ Jaemin squinted around warily. 

“Here.” Jeno nodded towards an empty space on the floor in the centre of the hanger. They set the case down, careful not to damage the contents. 

“Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.” Jaemin shuddered before turning on his heel and running out of the hanger. 

It was about halfway back to the van when there were a loud cracking noise and a scream. Jaemin whipped around to find Renjun sliding off the edge of the path and down towards the river below. The path beneath his feet had dropped away and he was now desperately trying to find any handhold available. 

“Renjun!” Jeno ran over to grab him. Jaemin was about to go over and help when the ground beneath his feet gave way too, and he plummeted downwards. 

Above him, he could hear Jeno screaming his and Renjun’s name as he stood, helpless on the path. 

Jaemin just smiled as he hit the icy water of the river, allowing himself to be swept upstream. There was no point in fighting the current, it would only tire himself out and make the chances of survival even slimmer. He instead focused on keeping his limb moving, attempting to combat the numbness crawling up from his fingers and toes. Eventually, the river calmed and Jaemin was deposited on a rocky river bank miles from the original destination.   
He shivered, shedding off his sodden jacket. His telecomm screen was smashed and has water dripping from the headphone jack. _Chenle can design a freaking amnesia serum but he didn’t think to make the phone waterproof._

“Right,” he said to himself in between chattering teeth. “Survival 101. Build a fire.” He had never been more thankful to the hour-long lectures Mark delivered bi-weekly on what to do if they ever ended up in a situation _exactly_ like this. It had seemed pointless at the time, but now Jaemin promised himself that he was going to give Mark the biggest hug of his life when he was eventually rescued. He assumed that Jeno had managed to get Renjun to safety and had gone back to tell the others and organise a search party. He muttered all this to himself as he rooted around in the undergrowth for some form of kindling to make a fire. 

Walking back down to the shore, Jaemin shivered. It was nearly winter and the cool night air was biting through his wet clothes. 

He paused, heart jumping up his throat. There was a black shape floating in the water not a metre or so out from the shoreline. It was moving slowly, pushed along by the river. Dropping the kindling on the ground Jaemin sprinted to get a closer look. 

“Please be a log, please be a log.” He whispered to himself as he waded waist deep into the water. 

It wasn’t a log, however. Up close, Jaemin could make out the outline of a milky pale hand under the moonlight. It was so white, translucent almost.   
Wasting no time, Jaemin waded into the water, ignoring the numbing cold that tingled up his legs. He reached out and grabbed the body, dragging it to sore as gently as possible. 

He deposited the body gently on the sand and turned it over. The dark brown hair was black with water, perfect lips blue. Jaemin gasped as he looked down at Renjun lying unconscious below him.   
“I though Jeno saved you…” he breathed, scouring the older male’s body for any sign of life. He was breathing, thank the lord, but his heartbeat was so, so weak.  
Jaemin jumped into action, moving Renjun’s body further up the shore. He ripped off the heavy jacket that swamped his form, tossing it aside. 

Remembering the kindling that he had left on the ground, Jaemin scrambled to collect it and began making the fire. It was a painfully slow process, and his quaking hands didn’t help. All he could think was keeping Renjun alive.   
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of striking stones for a spark, the dried grass caught alight, and a warm burst of light flared. It caught quickly, fire racing up the branches. Jaemin basked in the warm for a second, before turning back to the unconscious body beside him. He pulled Renjun closer to the fire. The male’s shirt clung to his skin, steaming as the icy water evaporated. Panicking, Jaemin pulled off the shirt as well, for fear of it burring Renjun’s skin.   
He stopped dead, realising the weight of his actions. The skin on Renjun’s torso was just as pale as his hands and face, with blue veins showing through. He had the body of a warrior, slender and toned. But Jaemin couldn’t focus on the beauty of Renjun right now, he was too fixed on the jagged scars marring the perfect white of his skin. They were puckered and a pale red colour, like they had been healed for a long time. There was so many, stretching across the flesh of his ribs and back and shoulders. There was also black mixed in, whorls of tattoo ink stark against the bloodless skin.  
There was the Dream tattoo, of course, delicate compared to the other markings on him. A Chinese dragon was stamped across his left shoulder blade and a horrid six-pointed star on the other. But, the star wasn’t a tattoo. It was flesh toned like the rest of the marks across his skin. It was a brand. 

Renjun stirred beneath him, murmuring in his sleep. His brow was furrowed as he began to thrash slightly on the ground. The moans became louder and he began to arch his back as if he was in pain.   
Pleads began to escape his lips, crying for his imaginary attacker to stop. Jaemin watched in silent horror, unsure of what to do. Renjun screamed, convulsing on the floor. It was a broken sound and Jaemin felt a twisting sensation burn through his gut. Gently, he reached out and grabbed Renjun’s slim bicep. The smaller boy was still thrashing around, and Jaemin struggled to maintain his hold. He screamed again.

“Renjun!” Jaemin gasped, adjusting his grip so he could shake the crying boy’s shoulders. “Renjun wake up!”He was crying at this point, set off by the pain and sorrow laced in Renjun’s cries.   
“Renjun!” He sobbed. “Please!” 

Brown eyes fluttered open, wide and panicked. Renjun shot up into a sitting position gasping for air and shivering. 

“ _Renjun_.” Jaemin breathed, sitting back on his heels to give the older some space.   
When the panting had subsided, Renjun turned slowly to look at Jaemin. He looked almost afraid, shrinking away when Jaemin tried to reach a hand out to comfort him.   
“Where’s Jeno.” He whispered, voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire. 

“Jeno is with the others. They will find us eventually.” Jaemin murmured gently.

Renjun looked around at the surroundings, and then down at himself in shock. He moved his arms to cover his bare torso as anger flared in his eyes.   
Jaemin scrambled to pass him his still-damp shirt.   
“It’s not what you think. You were dying and I had too…” Jaemin gave up. Renjun was pulling on the clothing aggressively. He shot Jaemin a fuming glare. Something close to annoyance bubbled in Jaemin’s chest. “Why are you mad? I just saved your life!”

Renjun faltered. “Don’t say anything.” The quaver in his voice did not match the intensity of his gaze. 

“What do you mean? Is this about your scars?” Jaemin was standing up now, striding closer to the smaller male.

“Don’t.” Renjun hissed. “Don’t even say it.”

“Does everyone else know?”

Renjun remained silent, looking at him the way a stray dog would look at a human – feral and frightened. 

“They do?” Renjun nodded. Jaemin took another step forward. “Renjun you were nearly dead just then, I need to check if you’re okay.” He shrunk away again, backing into a dead tree. “Renjun.” Jaemin moaned. 

“Why? You hate me.” Renjun hissed, batting Jaemin’s hand away. He was too weak to fight and it was clearly scaring him.

“Yes, but I can’t let you die.” 

Renjun held his fists up for a few more seconds before dropping them to his sides in defeat, allowing Jaemin full access to his body. “I thought Jeno saved you?” Jaemin pressed a hand against the older male’s forehead, checking for a fever. Renjun was burning, the skin clammy against his hand.   
He frowned.  
“His grip slipped.” Renjun closed his eyes to avoid having to look at Jaemin’s face. 

Jaemin nodded. “You have got a fever.” Renjun just shivered, wrapping his arms around his thin waist. He looked so fragile and pale under the harsh light of the moon. 

Renjun allowed himself to be looked after, albeit reluctantly. He still flinched every time Jaemin brought the wet rag close to his face as they tried to cool the fever.   
The temperature finally breaking, Renjun slipped into a deep slumber. Jaemin sighed and sagged against a log, poking the fire with a long stick he found in the undergrowth. 

He was exhausted. Emotionally and physically. As if being thrown down a river wasn’t enough, he was stranded with the person who hated him the most in the world. He couldn’t help but think back to the brands and scars marring Renjun’s beautiful body. He shuddered, feeling a phantom burning sensation crawl along his spine. Deep down, he felt guilty. The previous night in the kitchen, Jaemin had accused him of being malicious for no reason, unfairly comparing him to Jeno. He realised now that maybe he was so stand-offish for a reason, and Jaemin had been too fast to jump to conclusions.   
He leant back and stared up at the night sky. It must have been a few hours since they had left the others, and the sky was still littered with millions of stars. If they weren’t one step away from dying or something, Jaemin would have admired their beauty. Now he just closed his eyes and prayed that Mark and the rest of Dream were coming for them. 

The screaming started around 3 in the morning. Jaemin had fallen into an uncomfortable sleep a few hours prior.   
A jagged cry cut through the velvety silence of the early morning darkness. Jaemin shot up, wide awake. He whipped around, looking for the source of the sound.   
It was Renjun again, writhing on the floor and howling. His eyes were screwed shut and there were tears streaming down his cheeks. His body stuttered, jerking forward as if he had been shot. He screamed. Again, and again and again. 

“RENJUN!” Jaemin ran over and pulled the male into his arms. He hissed as a small fist collided with his jaw.

“LET ME GO! PLEASE!” Renjun cried, voice filled with agony and terror. It was so much worse than the first time, and Jaemin held onto Renjun’s squirming body with all his might, because if he didn’t, he feared he would run away and never return.   
“I WILL GIVE YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT, PLEASE!” Broken sobs wracked from the older’s shuddering frame. If he sobbed any harder he would probably injure himself.   
Jaemin just continued to hold onto Renjun, stroking his hair and allowing himself to be hit in the chest over and over as Renjun battled his inner demon.  
Eventually, the screams stopped and he collapsed, a quivering mess in Jaemin’s arms. He was awake now, unbothered by the embrace. Renjun buried his face into the soft material of Jaemin’s shirt, tears leaking through slitted eyes. 

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, Jaemin gently rocking back and forth as Renjun sobbed quietly into his chest. As the sun peaked over the horizon, lighting up the sky with a peachy glow, a shout could be heard through the silence.“JAEMIN! RENJUN!” 

There was a crash as Dream burst through the tree line, Jisung in the front, neon eye glowing.   
They paid no heed to Renjun and Jaemin’s position as they ushered them into warm blankets, enveloping them in warmth. 

The drive back to the compound was silent, save for the quiet bustling of Donghyuck checking them for any injuries. 

The very second, they entered the compound doors, Jaemin ran straight to his room and cried, traumatised by the unchained emotion of Renjun’s sobs. It baffled him how one person could hold so much pain inside. He figured that there was much more than meets the eye with Dream. Everyone was carrying some form of baggage, they just dealt with it in different ways. 

He ignored the countless knocks on his door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember to leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed <3


	4. Haunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter may be a bit angsty just watch out

Jaemin’s knuckles bled as he punched the boxing bag again. he had lost track of time, hours blurring together as he switched between the different articles of training equipment.  
No one had tried to talk to him. Donghyuck and Chenle had come and gone, sparring for only a short period before glancing worriedly at Jaemin before leaving.

Jaemin was surprised that Renjun hadn’t come in yet. It was common knowledge that the boy liked to destroy a piece of training equipment or two when he was frustrated. He was relieved though. Jaemin was not in the mood to see him again, relive the sound of him crying in the forest. 

He hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours and was feeling lightheaded from exhaustion and overexertion. He had managed to sleep for a short while, tossing in turning in bed as nightmare danced in his vision. In the end, he gave up on sleep, bypassing the kitchen and bathroom on his way to the training room. 

He saw why Renjun liked to train in here so much. It was therapeutic, in a way, being able to control everything that was happening, directing all your energy into a tiny spot on a target as you stare down the barrel of a gun. 

He sunk onto the floor, cradling his bloody hand to his chest as he panted heavily. There was a loud thud as the heavy doors opened. A very determined looking Mark strode across the springy training floor. Jaemin immediately got up to leave, wanting to avoid the inevitable confrontation.   
“Oh, no you don’t.” Mark pointed a finger at Jaemin, keeping him frozen in his spot by a stare alone. Mark was scary when he was in leader mode. “We need to talk.”

They sat down in the centre of the training mats, cross-legged and facing one another. “Talk to me Jaemin.” His leader looked at him with wide, worried eyes. 

“It’s nothing Mark, I am fine.” Jaemin looked away, staring at nothing. 

“Well, it’s clearly not fine Jaemin. You haven’t said a word to anyone since you came back from the mission and you are scaring everyone. Jeno is pacing the living room right now because he is too anxious about your condition to focus on anything else. He already has enough to stress about with Renjun, he really doesn’t need you acting scary too.”

“Renjun?” Jaemin flicked his eyes back to Mark’s, curious. 

“He hasn’t left his room since we got back. Not even Jeno has been able to talk to him.” Mark sighed. “What happened in the forest Jaemin?” 

“He~” Jaemin broke off, lip trembling. He was scared to talk about it.

“It’s okay Jaemin, I am here.” Mark laid a hand on his. 

He took a shaky breath in. “He wouldn’t stop crying, Mark. Every time he tried to sleep… it was horrible.” 

“He had a night terror?” Mark's eyes widened in concerned. 

Jaemin nodded. “Two. He was screaming and yelling at someone to stop. He hit me.” He rubbed his chest, still feeling the ache. 

“Jaemin…” Mark trailed off.

“He has scars, Mark. And tattoos. All over here.” He gestured to his back. “Why would someone do that to him?” Jaemin’s voice cracked, and a hot stream of tears fell onto his cheek.   
Mark pulled him close and let him cry it out, patting his back comfortingly. 

“I think you two should talk,” Mark said after Jaemin had calmed down. “You both need it.”

Jaemin swallowed the fear crawling up his throat and nodded. 

“He’s in his room.”

 

~

 

Renjun’s room was completely dark save for a small lamp in one corner.   
A small figure was hunched on the end of the bed, unmoving. 

When Jaemin had knocked on the door, Renjun had opened it without a word, leading him into the darkness. The air was musty, thick with the stench of dirt, sweat and tears. Renjun himself looked like shit, as did Jaemin, but he didn’t care. 

Jaemin felt like crying again from the second he entered the room. Looking at Renjun curl in on himself like he did, vulnerable and fragile, he felt scared. This wasn’t the strong, indifferent warrior he knew. Renjun was broken and Jaemin couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. 

They say that everyone has three faces. The face you show to the world, the face you show to the people you love, and your real face, a projection of who you are on the inside. 

This was Renjun’s face. All the pain and trauma he had experienced in his life was on full display for Jaemin to see. He felt naked, stripped of any protection he may have against the harsh cruelty of the truth. Slowly, he sat down beside Renjun on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest as they stared eye to eye. 

“Renjun~” He whispered.   
“Let me talk. Please.” Renjun mumbled, voice frail. Jaemin nodded, closing his mouth. The male took a shaky breath inwards and rubbed his eyes, red and puffy from crying. “What you saw in the forest… was not something I wanted you to see Jaemin. But I am glad you did. The only other person who has seen what you have seen is Jeno, and I trust him more than I trust anyone else in this world.”

“Why would someone do that to you Renjun?” Jaemin whispered, reaching out to stroke the older male’s hair. All the hostility between them had dissipated, leaving Jaemin feeling raw. 

“Mark didn’t tell you?” Jaemin shrugged. Renjun nodded and stood up. He pulled off his shirt and turned so Jaemin could get a good view of the ruined flesh of his back. The dragon tattoo shifted in the shadows of the dark room, alive. 

“My family comes from a long line of the royal guard. I was trained from birth to be a warrior. This tattoo is our symbol. I got it when I was ten.” Jaemin inhaled sharply. “There was no such thing as kindness where I come from. We were bred to fight and punished if we did not comply. When I was 11, my family sold me into slavery. The royal guard was few and far between, with the rise of governments and military. They needed money, and I was the best option.” He pointed to the ugly star brand on his shoulder blade. “They branded me and I became one of their child soldiers. I was forced to~” he choked up, tears dripping. “I was forced to do some bad things. There were other kids there too, some even younger than me. I tried to help one escape – a little girl. She was only 7 Jaemin.” He sobbed, clutching his arms. “They caught me. She was taken and I never saw her again. They did this to me.” He pointed to the whip marks crisscrossing over his back. 

“And that is what your night terrors are?” Jaemin asked quietly.

Renjun nodded, pulling his shirt back on. “Dream pulled me out around five years ago when I was fourteen.”

Jaemin hissed. “They had you for three years?” 

“Some had been there for even longer.”

Jaemin choked. “Renjun… I am _so sorry_. I shouldn’t have said anything that night in the kitchen. I~”

“Shut up. I don’t care what you said. We were both mad and jealous.” Renjun snapped, but not viciously. “I love Jeno and I was jealous that you were so close to him. He was the only one who made me feel safe when I first joined the team. I can’t sleep without him anymore unless I have a sleeping draught. I have always been protective of him, especially since the whole club disaster thing.” Jaemin nodded. “I am sorry for scaring you last night Jaemin, I know the night terrors aren’t pretty to watch. It freaked Jeno out too.”

Jaemin shrugged - an obnoxiously casual action for the current situation. “I will get over it.”

“Speaking of Jeno…” Renjun came and sat down on the bed. “I know you care for him too. In a more-than-friends kind of way. Don’t give me that look I see the way you stare at him.”

Jaemin sighed. “I will leave you two alone, don’t worry.”

Renjun shook his head. “Jeno won’t be okay with that. He likes you too.”

“Oh.” Jaemin’s stomach did an ugly flip of excitement which he instantly felt guilty about. 

“Don’t worry. I am not mad. It’s better just to let it happen. Relationships in Dream are… weird. We aren’t supposed to form attachments in case something happens but look at Donghyuck and Mark. And Chenle and Jisung too I guess.”

Jaemin nodded. “Jeno is waiting upstairs. Apparently, he hasn’t stopped pacing since this morning.” 

Renjun smiled slightly, a breathtaking sight to behold. “I know. I can hear him.”

Jaemin didn’t even want to know how he managed to do that. Probably something to with his ninja training. “Renjun, are we okay?” He held out a hand for Renjun to shake.

“Yes, Jaemin. We are okay.” He took Jaemin’s hand squeezing it gently. It felt like they were coming full circle.  
The tension had eased, instead, being replaced with an innocent curiosity and hope. Jaemin liked it, the feeling of endless possibilities. There was a lot more to Renjun that what he showed on the surface, Jaemin knew this now. He was still closed off and rude, but Renjun was no longer a figure of torment. Jaemin knew that this was only the begging for them. As they walked up the stairs and into the kitchen where the rest of Dream was waiting, Jaemin could honestly say that he looked forward to the future for once in his life. he had a home, a family made of rag-tag teens with enough emotional baggage to fill a hotel. They were strange, yes, but like Jeno had told him on his first day in the compound – _“They make it work.”_

 

~

 

Jaemin was halfway through his plate of chocolate chip waffles (courtesy of Mark) when a tall, slender man that Jaemin had never seen before walked into the kitchen. Judging by the way the rest of his members froze, he was someone important. 

Mark dropped the spatula he was holding into the sink and scrambled out of the pink floral apron he was wearing over the top of his clothes. “Doyoung.” He walked forward and bowed, the rest of Dream following. Jaemin stood up awkwardly late and copied, bowing 90 degrees at the waist for the stranger. 

“Hello Dream.” Doyoung smiled, serious expression morphing immediately into an expression that made Jaemin think of a bunny. It was almost cute. 

“Doyoung-hyung, I thought you were coming tomorrow! You scared the shit out of me!” Mark cried, throwing his arms around the older male’s neck. They all exchanged hugs, except for Renjun, who nodded and smiled politely, and Jaemin. 

“You must be Jaemin.” Doyoung turned to look directly at him. “I am Doyoung, Taeyong’s second.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Jaemin bowed again, unsure of the level of formality he should be using for the visitor. It was obviously too much as behind Doyoung, Jeno and Chenle were giggling.

“No need for that right now Jaemin.” Doyoung chuckled. “Taeyong’s not around.”

Jaemin relaxed, smiling. “Thank god, I was so scared for a moment there.” 

“How are you finding everything Jaemin, I know that being a part of the team can be difficult at times.”

“Difficult is a bit of an understatement.” He looked over to Renjun. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. They are my family now.” 

Mark smiled and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Comforting and warm. 

“Anyways,” Doyoung clapped his hands together. “Taeyong has sent me here today because we need to check your defences. EXO’s base was broken into the other day by an unknown enemy and we need to make sure you guys are safe with the rest of NCT in Costa Rico right now.” 

“Sure thing, Chenle and I will show you.” Mark nodded to the younger male and they lead Doyoung out of the room. 

As soon as they left, Jaemin turned back to his waffles. They had gone a bit cold, but the flavour was still there. Donghyuck and Jeno came to sit down next to him, while Renjun and Jisung engaged in an intense battle of fruit ninja on the VR machine that Chenle had made. 

“Family, hey?” Jeno forked a large mouthful of waffle into his mouth. 

Jaemin shrugged. “Well, yeah. We are in this for life now I guess, and after the last mission I realised how much we all need each other.” 

“Ah, so cheesy.” Donghyuck groaned, but there was no malice behind his words. Jeno just silently rested his head on Jaemin’s shoulder, inky hair tickling his jaw. 

 

~

 

“Again, Jaemin.” Renjun stalked the length of the training room with Jeno following close behind, gaze fixed on Jaemin in the centre of the mat.   
Renjun had agreed to train Jaemin again, and as thankful as Jaemin was for Jisung’s help, he didn’t really want to have to check the storeroom for cockroaches again before the younger would go in. 

Training with Renjun was… different.

The older was just as strict as ever, critiquing every little move Jaemin made in search of perfection, but this time Jaemin didn’t mind. It was actually nice, knowing that when he got something right, it would be literally perfect.  
Jeno also accompanied Renjun to their training sessions most of the time. Jeno had said he was there as a sparring partner for Jaemin, but so far, he had done more staring then actual fighting. 

Jaemin readjusted his posture, taking a deep breath in and grounding his base before swinging his leg up and around in a spinning round kick.   
His foot made purchase, thudding heavily against the kick bag, causing it to swing violently.

Renjun stopped pacing, pressing a hand against his chin. “That was good. You are getting better.” He smiled, ever so slightly. Beside him, Jeno was nodding enthusiastically. Renjun clapped sharply. “Right, Jeno you are up.” 

“What, now?” Jaemin blubbered like a fish. 

“Yes now, unless you would prefer to fight me instead?” Renjun rolled his shoulders and walked up to Jaemin, stopping less than a meter away. “We both know how well that went last time.” His gaze was full of mirth and Jaemin was using all his willpower to avoid melting into a puddle right then and there.

“Jun, leave him alone, I don’t think he wants another black eye today.” Jeno walked up behind and pulled the older male into a back hug. Renjun squirmed, but Jaemin could tell that he liked it. 

“Yes, Hyuck is sick of seeing my face.”

Renjun grunted and walked off the mat. Jeno shrugged off his jacket, revealing toned biceps and a _very_ low cut muscle tee. Jaemin struggled to keep his eyes on the raven male’s face. 

“3, 2, 1, start!” Renjun called from the corner. Jaemin, once again, was unprepared and Jeno immediately tackled him to the floor. 

“Jaemin get it together!” Renjun called, voice sharp. Above him, Jeno laughed, hot breath ruffling his fringe. 

“Yeah, Nana, get it together.” 

“Nana?!” Jaemin jumped to his feet. “It’s on, pretty boy.” Jeno laughed again, cheeks colouring slightly.

“Bring it then.” 

By the time Renjun blew the whistle for them to stop, both males were sweaty and panting heavily. Jaemin’s forearm was throbbing from where he blocked a particularly hard right hook and Jeno had a nosebleed. He lifted the hem of his shirt to attempt to staunch the bleeding, revealing a sliver of muscled midsection.   
Jaemin nearly squealed. 

“Good match. Jaemin you did well.” Renjun marched over, a water bottle in hand.

Jaemin took it and gulped down a few soothing mouthfuls. “If by ‘well’ you mean getting flipped on my ass every five seconds, then yes, I did fantastically.”

“Don’t sell yourself short Nana, you managed to get me a few times too.” Jeno tossed a sweaty smile in his direction. There was still blood leaking from his nose. _How does he manage to make a nosebleed look good?_ “I am going to get Hyuck to clean me up, see you later.” Jeno waved before jogging out of the practice room. 

“You know,” Renjun sidled closer, lowering his voice. “If you are going to check him out, at least be subtler about it.” 

Jaemin could feel his face heating to the same temperature as the sun. “W-wha~”

“Oh, stop blubbering.” Renjun rolled his eyes. “He likes it, even if he doesn’t say.”

“H-he does?” 

“Yeah. The guy gets scouted for some form of entertainment company whenever we go out of the compound on leave. He still gets excited every time.”

“I can see why.” Jaemin giggled.

“Calm down, don’t inflate his ego any more than it already has. I don’t want to have to deal with a giddy Jeno tonight when I am trying to sleep.”   
Jaemin merely shrugged and pranced off the showers. 

 

~

“Jaeminnnn~” Chenle and Donghyuck marched into his bedroom. Jaemin was in the process of getting dressed after his shower and attempted to cover himself from the two intruders. 

“Oh, calm down, we are all men here.” Chenle rolled his eyes. “We need your help.”

“Uhhhh?” Jaemin yanked on his shirt. 

“Mark is sending us to the Trader and we need another member to come along for backup. Renjun and Jeno can’t come and they are the only good muscle we have right now since Jisung isn’t allowed to leave the compound without Mark. You are the last option.” Donghyuck grinned. “You in?” 

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence guys,” Jaemin grumbled. 

“Hey, hey, we are only kidding. Renjun actually told us to bring you instead, for training purposes.”

“Well okay then. Let’s go!” Jaemin was aching to get out. He hadn’t been outside in over a week and was feeling kind of gross; a mission felt like the perfect excuse to leave. 

“Sweet! Kit up and meet us in the car in 10.” 

 

~

 

“Okay, so. On a scale of 1 to 10, how carsick do you get?” Chenle swivelled in the driver’s seat. 

Jaemin shrugged. “Uhh like a 3, why?” 

“Chenle is driving. You may want to put on a helmet because this van is about to become death on wheels.” Donghyuck gulped as he tightened his seatbelt. Jaemin copied and then gripped the sides of his seat for stability. 

They were on the road for 5 minutes and Chenle had already managed to get them into a car chase. They weren’t even in the right lane and Jaemin was pretty sure they had crushed several cars in their wild escape from the police. 

Donghyuck wasn’t kidding when he said driving with Chenle was deadly. Turns out, he didn’t have a licence and had taught himself to drive when he ran away from his mansion back in China for the sixth time.   
Furthermore, ‘driving’ was a loose description of what Chenle was actually doing. The blonde was pretty much just flooring the gas pedal and rotating the steering wheel so fast that Jaemin got vertigo just from watching.

“MARK! SAVE ME!” Donghyuck cried as he clung onto Jaemin. They were both screaming and Chenle was laughing maniacally.

“HOLD ON LADIES WE ARE ALMOST THERE!” They hit an open stretch of road and Chenle gassed it again, police sirens fading into the background. “I knew installing the V8 engine was a good idea!” Chenle swerved a corner again and pulled to a screeching halt outside a very expensive looking hotel. 

“Look after her for me, will you?” Chenle winked at the valet and tossed the keys to the van into his hands before striding purposefully into the lobby of the hotel. 

“Chenle, you know you have to pay for that right?” Donghyuck scurried after him, hefting a large black suitcase in one hand.

“Ah, he will be fine.” Chenle waved Donghyuck off and walked over to the counter. “We are here to see Seungcheol. Tell him Mark sent us.” The receptionist nodded and picked up a phone. 

“Now Jaemin, this will be your first time interacting with another group. This gang is our ally so try not to fuck anything up okay? This is a simple trade and transfer operation, with some networking thrown in. All you have to do is smile and look pretty while Hyuck and I handle all the big boy stuff.” Chenle reached up and ruffled Jaemin’s hair as Hyuck scoffed behind him.

“Chenle, again with the condescending talk! You are like 12!” Jaemin growled. 

“Hey, I may be young in appearance, but I am wise in mental state.” Chenle smiled before striding towards an open elevator that the receptionist had directed them to. 

“Ignore him. He is very rich and very smart. A lack of friendship during childhood can turn you into… that.” Donghyuck gestured to where Chenle was talking animatedly to the bellhop. 

 

~

 

The doors of the elevator opened to reveal a luxurious black and red office with gold and wood panelling. It was empty but the receptionist told them to wait on the padded leather couches for “the boss” to come. 

“Holy shit this is lux.” Jaemin ran a hand over the sofa. “That rug must be worth more than my entire life alone!” 

“It’s cashmere so probably,” Chenle smirked. 

There was a loud ‘ding’ as the doors of the elevator opened. 

“Ah NCT! Welcome!” A dark-haired male stepped out. “How long has it been?” 

“Like 6 months! Good to see you Cheol.” Donghyuck stepped forward and embraced the male, Chenle following. Jaemin stood and smiled, nodding politely to Seungcheol and the three other males that had come out of the elevator with him. Two were holding very large and deadly looking guns. Jaemin gulped. “Ah, you must be the new one!” Seungcheol laughed and threw his arms around Jaemin, lifting him off his feet in a suffocating embrace. 

“I’m Jaemin.” He managed to choke out. The male had put him back on the floor and was now scurrying over to the enormous desk in the centre of the room.

“Seungcheol, nice to meet you. This is Mingyu and Jun, ignore the weapons, precautionary thing. And this,” he held out his hand to a particularly beautiful male, “is Jeonghan.”   
Jeonghan smiled sweetly and perched on the edge of the desk. Seungcheol planted a kiss on his smooth cheek before settling in the oversized leather office chair. 

“Now, what can SVT do for you?” He leant forward eagerly, eyeing the black suitcase in Donghyuck’s hand.

“We have come to propose a trade for you.” He placed the case on the desk and opened it. Inside, carefully packaged in black foam, was about 100 tiny vials filled with a lilac coloured substance. Seuncheol’s eyes widened greedily and Jeonghan gasped. 

“Where did you get this?”   
“We make it. And you want it.” Chenle smiled. 

“How did you~”

“Calm down, Dino told us. He knows we can help you. But for a price.” The blonde leant back in his seat and inspected his cuticles. 

“How much are we talking?” Jeonghan leant forward and picked out one of the vials, holding it up to the light.

“6 million for the lot,” Donghyuck said. “It’s top of the line and super potent.”

Seungcheol hissed. “Ah, but how can we be sure? That’s a big asking price.”

“Cheol, you have worked with us before – have we ever let you down?” Chenle stood up. 

“You can never be too sure.” Seungcheol raised an eyebrow. “Let’s test it, shall we?”

Next, to Jaemin, Donghyuck inhaled sharply. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know what it does.” 

“Please, I am full of good ideas, right Hannie?” Seungcheol rubbed the male's arm. 

“Of course, love.”

“See? Let’s try it. Bring it in.” He gestured to one of his lackeys – Mingyu was it? The tall male left the room and returned a few moments later with a block of dark coloured metal, placing it in the centre of the desk.   
Seungcheol uncapped one of the vials and poured a couple of drops onto the metal. Immediately there was a burst of violet smoke and a rancid smell as the metal began to melt right before Jaemin’s eyes. Blocking his nose, Jaemin leant forward to get a closer look. The liquid had burnt a hole straight through the centre of the metal and was now starting to work its way through the desk too.  
Seungcheol didn’t seem to care though, as he was clapping excitedly like a kid in a candy store. “Marvellous! It’s fantastic, right Hannie?!” 

“Yes dear, amazing.”

“Once again NCT, you have done it.” He reached out to shake all three of their hand’s enthusiastically. 

“We only provide the best for you Cheol. Now about the price?” 

“Hmm. It still seems a bit much don’t you think? How about 5 million instead?” 

“No can do sorry, you saw how well that stuff works. And there is enough of it to last you like 10 years.” Chenle negotiated.

“I know you are really smart Chenle, so understand me when I say. 5 million.” The older narrowed his eyes.

“And I know you aren’t an idiot, Seungcheol. You know how much it is worth. 6 million or we leave with it.” There was a glint in the blonde’s eye that Jaemin had never seen before on someone of their age.

In the corner, Mingyu and Jun adjusted their grips on their weapons threateningly. Jaemin swallowed thickly.

Seungcheol was standing up now. “5 million or I~”

Jaemin leapt out of his chair. “5.5, take it or leave it. This is the final offer.” All eyes in the room turned to him.   
Cheol smiled. “The little sprout knows how to bargain, I like it. Well Mr Jaemin, you have yourself a deal.” He stuck a hand out for Jaemin to shake. Jaemin glanced at Donghyuck and Chenle before taking it. They were both mildly gobsmacked at Jaemin’s sudden outburst but didn’t appear to be angry in any way. 

 

~

 

“Jaemin! What did I tell you about talking?” Chenle threw himself into the driver’s seat of their van. SVT had thanked them for doing business and handed them a huge case full of wads of cash before ushering them out of the office.   
They were now sitting in the van utterly shocked. 

“You were going to get us blown up Chenle!” 

“What? I am the best negotiator, he was going to crack any second!” 

“The only cracking was going to be your head on the ground when his bouncers beat you up for being annoying Lele.” Donghyuck laughed at the younger’s incredulous expression.

Chenle opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, stuck for a comeback. In the end, he pouted and turned to face the road. “Fine, be like that. Jisung would agree with me.”

“You sure about that Chenle?” 

Chenle nearly crashed the van trying to launch himself at Jaemin in the backseat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember to leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed


	5. The First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the calm before the storm

“Nana, Nana, Nana!” Jeno bounced into the kitchen where Jaemin was raiding the fridge. “We have a free day today, wanna hang out with Jun and I?” 

“We are allowed to go out?” Jaemin put down the cold pizza he had been picking at. He had no idea how long it had been in there but it sure didn’t taste good.

“Yeah. Not very often but we can.”

Jaemin grinned. “Sure, it would be nice to have some free time.” 

Jeno smiled brightly. “Great! Let’s go!” He grabbed Jaemin’s hand and started to drag him out the kitchen. 

“Wait now?” 

“Well yeah? Duh.” 

“Uh okay. Woah!” Jaemin nearly tripped at Jeno broke out into a run, still holding his hand. 

 

~

 

“Ah, I was wondering where you guys were.” Renjun was sitting on the edge of the pavement outside the compound. Jaemin nearly choked when he saw him because Renjun was wearing _colour._ A pale blue to be exact. In the four months that Jaemin had been at the compound, he had never seen Renjun in anything except black. And he looked _good._

“You okay Nana?” Jeno gripped his shoulder. 

“Wha- uhh yeah. Totally fine.” He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was still staring at the older male. Shaking his head, he coughed awkwardly. “Where are we going today?” 

“Jeno wanted to go bowling. He had been obsessed with it ever since Mark took him last year for his birthday.” Renjun stood up. “We better go. The bus stop is a long walk away and I am not having Chenle drive us.”

“Bowling?” Jaemin looked to Jeno.

“It’s fun. You’ve been before, right?” 

“Uh, actually no. I haven’t.” Jaemin looked down at his feet. 

“Ah, it’s okay! There is a first time for everything, right?” Jeno took his hand again, gently this time. “I will teach you.”

Renjun wasn’t kidding, the walk was really long. Jaemin swallowed like 50 flies every time he opened his mouth and he was sweating in the summer heat.  
The bus ride wasn’t much better either. The bus was one more pothole away from falling apart and it was completely full of tired tourists and grumpy business people trying to get to work on time. Jeno managed to snag a seat at the very back, patting the seat next to him for Jaemin to sit down. Renjun gripped onto the rail and stood beside them, blowing his sweat fringe out of his face.   
“No, no Jun this won’t do,” Jeno whined, reaching for the older male. Renjun yelped slightly as Jeno latched onto his waist and pulling him down to he was sitting across his and Jaemin’s laps. “Much better.”

Renjun’s eyes had widened in shock and Jaemin had turned the colour of a tomato. Jeno seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.   
“Jeno, people are staring,” Renjun whispered.

“So what? It’s not like we are ever going to see them again.” Jeno smiled cheekily.

“Yeah, but still. We are meant to keep a low profile, remember?” 

“Low profiles can wait for now.” Jeno beamed again before craning his neck to plant a sloppy kiss on Renjun’s cheek. The older flinched away, cheeks colouring. Jaemin giggled at the sight. 

“Renjun doesn’t like being kissed?” He teased. Jeno laughed before turning his head and kissing Jaemin’s cheek as well. Jaemin nearly fell out of the seat. 

“Aw, little Nana doesn’t like being kissed?” Renjun mocked, voice lowered in a terrible impression of Jaemin. 

“Shut up,” Jaemin grumbled before quickly pressing his lips against Jeno’s cheek in return. 

“Cute!” Jeno giggled. “Oh, shit this is our stop!”

The trio sprang out of the seat, just making it off the bus before the doors closed. It was cooler in the city, tall buildings taking away some of the sun’s intensity. 

Jeno seemed to know exactly where to go, skipping happily along in front while Jaemin and Renjun tried to keep up. 

“Jeno may look like a puppy but he has a really good memory and has memorised every street in this city,” Renjun informed him. “He googled the directions to this bowling place a week ago and has been thinking about it ever since.”

“Aw.” Jaemin cooed. 

“Yeah, I know.” Renjun smiled fondly, teeth on show and eyes crinkling. Today was a day of firsts because this was the first time Jaemin had ever seen Renjun smile like that. 

“You have a pretty smile.” He blurted dumbly, immediately clapping a hand over his mouth. 

The older male just laughed, loud and sweet. Jaemin wanted to die. “Thanks.” Renjun grinned again, for emphasis - because he was mean like that. 

“Guys, here we are!” Jeno called, waving at them. The neon sign was obnoxiously bright even during the daytime and there was some Top 100 pop tune blaring out from inside the glass doors. 

Turns out Jeno was really good at bowling, and Renjun was really bad. Jaemin was pleased to discover something that Renjun wasn’t good at. After bowling six gutter balls in a row, Renjun cried in annoyance and flopped down into a plastic chair in defeat.

Because Jaemin had never bowled before, Jeno took it upon himself to teach him the basics. In reality, it was just an excuse for him to press close to Jaemin under the premise of ‘adjusting his grip,’ holding his hand as they swung the bowling ball together. It was disgustingly cute and Renjun took it upon himself to point out how their extremely public flirting was giving him diabetes.   
It didn’t stop him from winning them both enormous stuffed toys in the fruit ninja arcade game, though.

Jaemin sunk into the booth at a local diner hours later, hugging his plush cow toy and sighing in content. They had all ordered milkshakes, strawberry for Renjun, vanilla for Jeno and cookie crunch marshmallow swirl for Jaemin. The others had laughed at his order, but he had seen the way they eyed the sugary masterpiece when the waitress brought their drinks over. Jeno ended up drinking half of it. 

After the milkshakes, Jaemin insisted they go for a walk along the river in order to get rid of some of their sugar induced energy. Holding hands and laughing in delight, the three boys stumbled down the banks of the river, enjoying the view of the city lights reflecting against the dark water.

At some point, Jeno had thought it a good idea to shove his stuffed toy into Jaemin’s hands and pick Renjun up, laying him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. 

Renjun, on the other hand, was having none of it. Letting out a warrior cry, the smaller male twisted his body in a way that Jaemin was sure wasn’t humanly possible and then Jeno was on the floor, Renjun straddling his hips. 

Jeno coughed, winded from the force of Renjun throwing him to the ground. “Why you little~” he growled reaching up to grab the older and pull him down against his chest.   
Renjun somehow managed to break free and started sprinting away, shrieking. Jaemin was on the floor crying with laughter. Jeno looked away from Renjun, attention now directed solely on Jaemin. 

“Oh shit,” Jaemin whispered as he began to power walk away. Jeno grinned and took off after him. “Jeno no! NO!” he cried as the older male tackled him to the ground.

“I have you now.” Jeno’s voice was soft. Jaemin could feel the male’s heart beat through his shirt, and it was going almost as fast as his own. 

“Jeno…” Jaemin trailed off, wandering eyes flicking down to the older’s lips and back up to his eyes. 

At some point, Renjun had returned and was now watching from a safe distance. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “Just do it already!”

Jeno huffed, breath ruffling Jaemin’s hair. “Well, if he insists.” And then pressed his mouth to Jaemin’s.   
The kiss was soft, full of innocent love and first times. Jeno tasted like chocolate and something Jaemin could only describe as happiness.

Breaking apart, Jaemin giggled like a school girl, face the colour of a tomato. 

“That was… nice.” Jeno grinned. 

“Yeah. It was.”

Renjun knelt down next to them. “Okay kids, break it up. Low profiles remember.” 

“Not so fast.” Jaemin rolled away from Jeno and sat up, crossing his legs in front of him. Cupping Renjun’s face in both his hands, he looked the older male in the eye, searching for any discomfort or disgust. Finding nothing except anticipation and slight nerves, Jaemin scooted closer, face mere centimetres away from Renjun’s. The male had closed his eyes, and Jaemin took it as a sign to just go for it. 

Kissing Renjun was nothing like kissing Jeno. Renjun’s kiss was fiery and passionate, burning with pent-up emotion and some tears. 

Oh yeah, Jaemin was crying. 

Forgot to mention that. 

Renjun’s body quivered under his touch and Jaemin was terrified that the older would run away. This kind of intimacy had been beaten out of him years ago, and it was obvious that he was going through the whole re-awakening process in one go. 

They broke apart, maintaining eye contact. Renjun smiled softly and wiped the tears from Jaemin’s cheeks. 

“They are happy tears I promise.” He smiled. The two most beautiful people he had ever met hugged him tightly, safe and secure. 

The bus ride home was a different one. The bus was empty this time, but they still chose to share a seat. Renjun was playing with Jaemin’s hair as he rested his head in the crook of Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno was asleep against the window and Jaemin was stroking his hand.

When they got back to the compound no one asked what happened. They ate dinner in silence, but it was pretty obvious that Jaemin was holding both Renjun and Jeno’s hands under the table. 

That night, after about two hours of pretending like he was trying to sleep, Jaemin heard a knock on his door. Renjun and Jeno entered and crawled into his bed, tangling their arms and legs together. Jaemin fell asleep to the sound of Jeno’s gentle snoring and the comforting weight of Renjun’s head on his chest. 

Things died down after that. The missions grew few and far between, with members dedicating their time to individual projects. Renjun and Jeno continued to train Jaemin, strict but fair. Jaemin could hold his own against the both of them now and had managed to learn how to shoot a gun blindfolded (don’t ask why it was just necessary according to Renjun).

The other members knew of their relationship of course. Mark had taken it upon himself to sit the three males down individually and give them ‘the talk.’ The whole experience was very awkward and uncomfortable and Donghyuck ended up coming in to stop Mark because he had turned into a blushing mess by the end.   
In the end, the takeaway message was: “stay safe, don’t hurt one another, use protection.” (the last message was from Chenle, who had been listening through the door).

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses. There was a lot of discomfort and awkwardness in the beginning. Renjun still woke up with night terrors bi-weekly and it took a long time to calm him down enough to get him to go back to sleep. The majority of the time, Jeno and Jaemin would wake up to find the spot on the mattress where Renjun slept cold. 

It was a process, but Chenle’s sleeping serum helped. In between tears and thousands of whispered ‘I love you-s’, they were helping one another heal their hearts.   
Everyone was a bit broken, but they were broken together. 

But being in a gang didn’t come without a price. The size of that price was undecided, but it would have to be cashed in at some point. They just prayed that it wasn’t anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember to leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed <3


	6. Now or Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end.

_“Attention team.”_ Chenle’s voice echoed through the telecom on sitting on Jaemin’s bed. _“We have received an emergency distress signal from an unknown source nearby. We need all available members downstairs in 10 minutes ready to go and check it out.”_

Jaemin scrambled into his mission kit, grabbing his holster from the weapons room before sprinting down to the van. Everyone was already in the van, adjusting their weapons. 

“The area we are heading into is very unsafe. There was a gang war there a few years back and now it is unclaimed territory. We don’t know who could be camping out. We just need to get in there, find the source of the distress signal and get out.” Mark crouched in the back of the van.  
They had pulled up by what appeared to be an abandoned factory. There was no lights or movement to be seen, the atmosphere ominous. It didn’t feel good. 

“What if it’s a trap?” Renjun frowned. “We don’t know who it’s from Mark.” 

“But what if it’s not? There could be innocents in there Jun.” Jeno countered.

“It’s a risk we are going to have to take. Everyone split up. Chenle you stay here with the van, Renjun and Hyuck you guys come with me and Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung you go over that way.” He pointed to a block of buildings over to the right. “Keep updating on the earpieces and if anything seems off, come back to the van immediately understood?”

“Yes.” They all chorused before heading out. 

Gravel crunched under his boots as he snuck around a corner to one of the buildings.  
“Jisung, do you see anything?” he whispered. 

The younger male shook his head. “Nothing. It’s almost too quiet.”

“You think it’s a trap?” Jeno gripped his gun tighter. 

“It’s a possibility. We should keep searching though.” Jisung pointed to an open doorway. “In here first.” 

The inside of the factory was equally as grimy as the outside. It had been pretty much gutted, with nothing but the skeletons of the old machinery left behind. Jaemin squinted in the darkness, searching for any concealed threats. They followed Jisung through the maze of machinery. An almost undetectable beeping noise was coming from somewhere inside the building. Weaving through the machines, the noise grew gradually louder until they stumbled upon a small black box with a flashing red light on the top.  
Jeno hissed. “Shit, it’s a plant. We have been tricked. Let’s get out of here – now.”

“Mark, it’s a fake. The distress signal is a fake.” Jaemin said into the earpiece. He was met with static. Turning to Jeno, he shot him a quizzical look. Jeno just shrugged, looking equally as confused. 

“We are in range. There shouldn’t be static-” Jeno was cut off by several loud bangs as gunshots ricocheted through the factory. There was a muffled cry and some strangled screams as a fight broke out. Jaemin whipped around searching for the attacker. 

“Run!” Jeno’s voice rang out. They sprinted towards the exit, not bothering to find out if their assailant was following them. 

“Chenle!” Waved his arms desperately when the van came into view, trying to catch their leaders attention. The other members were already waiting in the back of the van, tipped off by the gunshots. “Start the engine!” 

They jumped in the back of the van, not bothering to close the door as the vehicle took off, racing down the road at a breakneck pace. 

“What happened in there!?” They had pulled over after a few minutes and Mark was now drilling the members with questions. 

“It was an ambush. We didn’t get to see who, but they had guns. I am pretty sure there were some punches thrown too.” Jaemin panted, still struggling to regain his breath as blood pounded through his skull. 

“Is anyone hurt?” Donghyuck came forward, a medical kit in hand.

“More importantly, where the fuck is Jisung!?” Chenle burst out. The rest of the members looked around at one another, mentally and verbally cursing themselves for not noticing the younger male’s absence earlier. 

Sure enough, Jisung was nowhere to be found. Panic rose up in Jaemin’s throat. “He must have been the one I heard fighting one of the attackers. Maybe he couldn’t get away.”

Suddenly, there was a shrill ringing in his ear coming from his earpiece. Jaemin screamed and clutched his head, curling in on himself. Judging by the rest of his members’ actions, they were experiencing the same technological shriek in their ears too.  
As quickly as it started, the noise stopped, replaced briefly by static and then a person’s voice, deep and distinctly male.

 _Well, well, well. NCT Dream. How are you all?”_ The voice was filled with mirth almost laughing at them through the earpiece. 

“Daehyun,” Mark whispered, face paling considerably. Beside him, Jeno flinched and Renjun made a pained expression as they recognised the name. “What do you want from us.”

 _“Wouldn’t you like to know.”_ The voice, Daehyun, came again. _“Well Markie Mark, don’t you fret, all will be revealed soon. But for now, I believe we have something that belongs to you?”_

_Jisung._

“GIVE HIM BACK! HE HAS GOT NOTHING YOU WANT! TAKE ME INSTEAD!” Chenle screamed desperately. “Please… don’t hurt him.” Weaker this time. The blonde had tears streaming down his round cheeks. 

_“Oh, how adorable, little Lele wants to save his friend. But I am afraid he is too late now. Jisungie is ours now and he is going to be very, very useful.”_ Daehyun cooed. 

“We will find you, and when we do, you are dead. You and your whole gang.” Mark growled. 

_“Have fun with that Markie. Now, remember, B.A.P is always watching. Haha! Zelo, grab the kid, we’re leaving!~” _The earpiece cut off, leaving them in silence again.__

__“Oh no. This is very, very bad.” Mark tugged at his hair, pacing in a circle so quickly that Jaemin was concerned that he was going to fall over from dizziness._ _

__“Yeah, obviously! One of our members was just kidnapped! By mother fucking B.A.P of all people!” Renjun snapped._ _

__“Jisung…” Chenle whimpered. He had crawled into a tight ball on the floor and was rocking back and forth while Donghyuck rubbed his back._ _

__“No, you don’t get it.” Mark groaned in exasperation. “Jisung is special. He isn’t supposed to be alive right now, let alone performing to the standard at which he does. Thanks to NCT’s superior biomechanics and doctors we were able to rebuild his brain in so he could live. However, because the technology is so advanced we had to keep him a secret so that he wouldn’t become a target. No one outside of NCT is meant to know that he is alive. And now… and now one of the most dangerous gangs on the continent has him.”_ _

__“B.A.P?” Jaemin asks._ _

__“Yes. They have been feuding with NCT for years, desperately trying to weaken us somehow. I have no idea how they managed to find Jisung though, we were always so careful…”_ _

__“Well, we can’t do much now. We should get back to the base and call Taeyong as quickly as possible. We are going to need backup if we want to get Jisung back in one piece.” Jeno stepped forward, gently lifting Chenle off the ground with Donghyuck’s help. The younger male was a mess, pale and shaking.  
“Lele, look at me,” Renjun muttered softly, expression softer than Jaemin could ever imagine. “We are going to get him back okay?” _ _

__Chenle nodded and sniffled. Renjun murmured something in what Jaemin recognised as Mandarin. It seemed to perk Chenle up just the slightest amount.  
Renjun straightened, face returning to cold emptiness, and got in the van._ _

__

__~_ _

__

__“Mark I am sorry, but there is no way we are going to be able to get back in time to help you. 127 and U are in the middle of their mission in Costa Rico and we don’t have the resources available to pull them out right now.” Taeyong sighed and rubbed his face. “This is going to have to be a Dream only operation. We can’t trust any other groups right now, not even SVT. You will have to go in without backup.”_ _

__“We don’t even know where they are!” Mark stood up, pushing his chair our aggressively. “We need to act now, or Jisung is going to die and B.A.P will know all his secrets.”  
At the end of the table, Chenle flinched and Donghyuck pulled him into a hug before he could start whimpering again. _ _

__“Look, we can probably find out where he is for you, but the rest you are going to have to do on your own. I will call Taeil and Johnny right now to see if they can start up the tracking device they hid in his brain. You will be able to hack it and find out where he is after that. I will send you a message once it is up and running. Good luck Dream. Neo to the world.”_ _

__“Neo to the world.”_ _

__“Mark, what are we going to do?” Jeno stood up. “Are we going to be able to get him back with just the six of us?”_ _

__“We are going to have to.” Mark’s jaw was set with grim determination. Something on his telecomm beeped. “They have started up the tracker. Chenle it’s your turn now. Be brave.”_ _

__They all followed the crying Chenle down to the tech room. Wiping his eyes and cracking his knuckles, the blonde started to work. Lines of green code appeared on the screens, Chenle’s eyes darting back and forth as his fingers worked in double time.  
After around two hours of typing, Chenle leant back in his chair. “I found him.” The rest of the members looked up from whatever they were doing while they waited. “He is in an ex-military base an hour or two away. I have downloaded the blueprints, we can make a plan while we drive.”_ _

__Mark nodded. “Everyone, grab your gear and anything else you may need, we are going to get him back.”_ _

__

__~_ _

__

__Jaemin moved closer to Jeno and Renjun, taking both their hands in his. “It’s going to be okay.”_ _

__“I don’t have a good feeling about this Nana,” Jeno whispered. “What if he is already dead?”_ _

__“He’s not. I know it.” Renjun frowned._ _

__“Alright, listen up everyone. There are two entrances to this place. We are going to have to split up again. Chenle is staying with the car, Jeno and Donghyuck are coming with me and Renjun and Jaemin are going together. You guys take the west entrance. The scans say that there are lifeforms deep within the building, so it’s just a matter finding them and getting Jisung out. Got it?”_ _

__everyone nodded._ _

__“Good. Remember, we are a team and no matter what happens in there, we stick together. Even if something has happened to Jisung we should still focus on eliminating the enemy so they can’t use the information. Stay safe family.” Mark smiled before clambering out of the van, Donghyuck hot on his heels. He planted a kiss right on the younger’s mouth before they disappeared into the darkness.  
Jeno scrambled after them, kissing both Jaemin and Renjun before he left. “I will come back to you. I love you both.” _ _

__“I Love you too Jeno. Come back.”_ _

__They sat in silence as they watch Jeno merge with the shadows. “Please come back.” Renjun prayed quietly. Jaemin took his hand lead him out of the van._ _

__The west entrance was suspiciously easy to find and completely unprotected. Renjun held his katana out in front of them as they crept through the door. The hallway was dark and they moved stealthily to avoid drawing attention to their existence._ _

__When they reached the third level of the building, Jaemin started to feel uneasy. He could smell the blood before he could see it. Renjun could smell it too, and the older held a hand over his nose to block the heavy metallic scent filling the air._ _

__The hallway was once again, unprotected. There was a thick red stain down the length of the floor, leaving behind one of the closed-door ways. Creeping forward, Jaemin kicked the door open. Wood splintered and there was a weak cry from the inside.  
In the darkness, Jaemin could just make out a flickering blue light and a hunched figure crumpled on the tiled floor. _ _

__“Jisung,” Renjun whispered, rushing forward to inspect the younger. There were several large gashes on his head, blood mixing with sweat and dirt and turning his silver hair a deep red colour.  
His eye was still intact, but he was bleeding out, complexion waxy in the dark. _ _

__“Mark, we found him. Third floor, west wing. He is badly injured.” Jaemin said into the earpiece._ _

___“We are on our way over now.”_ Mark’s voice crackled back. _ _

__“Come on Sungie.” Jaemin wrapped an arm around Jisung’s mid-section and lifted him off the floor with Renjun’s help._ _

__“Well, well, well.” A deep voice echoed off the walls of the empty corridor. Jaemin and Renjun stopped dragging Jisung and looked around for the source of the voice. “Little kids, come to play?” It came again, teasing and full of dark laughter._ _

__An enormous shadow filled the doorway at the other end of the hallway behind them. The person must have been over 6 feet tall and was built like a US Marine._ _

__Jaemin gulped and started to move faster. More shadows appeared behind the giant man as he started to walk towards them. The exit was only a few meters ahead, but Jisung was growing heavier with each step, slowly sinking further and further down towards the floor._ _

__“Come on Jisung, you can do it.”_ _

__The man laughed. “I said, do you want to play?” His voice loud, missing the playful mirth from before. There was a deafening bang, and a searing pain ripped through Jaemin’s right bicep. He screamed and nearly dropped Jisung to the floor._ _

__“Jaemin!” Renjun roared, whipping around to face their attackers.  
“Renjun don’t, we… just need…” he panted, every breath sending a new wave of pain through his body. “Get... out.”_ _

__The man was raising his gun again, aiming for Renjun this time. “Last time little boy. I am mad now.”_ _

__Renjun growled and another gun sound ricocheted through the building. Renjun dodged the bullet, throwing his body to the side just in time. There was a thud as the bullet lodged itself into the wall behind Jaemin’s head._ _

__“Jaemin!” Jeno’s voice called up the stairs. There were loud footsteps as their team members raced to help. Renjun had engaged with the large man, slicing him across the midsection with his katana. The man grunted as a red liquid bubbled out from the wound.  
The other enemies were advancing quickly and soon Renjun wouldn’t be able to hold himself on his own. _ _

__“Jaemin.” Mark and the others appeared in the doorway._ _

__“Jisung.” Jaemin heaved himself off the floor, arm screaming in protest. “Take him. we can handle them.” Mark nodded, gesturing for Donghyuck to help get the younger out._ _

__Jeno had already begun helping Renjun, pivoting around so he could shoot two of the attackers at the same time.  
The stream seemed endless. Using his good arm, Jaemin took down a few more, but they kept on coming. _ _

__“We can’t get them all!” Jaemin cried._ _

__“We need to get out of here!” Renjun stabbed another person, blood splattering onto his brow._ _

__“No, wait! I have an idea.” Jeno shot someone else and then pulled out his telecomm. “Cover me and then run as fast as you can!”_ _

__“Jeno what?!” Renjun rushed over. “We are not leaving without you!”_ _

__“Do you trust me?” They both looked away. “I said, DO YOU TRUST ME?!” Jeno roared and punched an attacker. He dodged around, turning the attacker’s attention away from Renjun and Jaemin and onto himself._ _

__“Yes!”_ _

__“Then just do as I say.” He pressed a few buttons on the telecomm. “Remember, no matter what happens, I love you. So, so, much.” He cried out to Renjun and Jaemin as he lead the attackers away from them. He smiled, but it was sad. There were tears falling down his beautiful cheeks. “Run. Run so fast. Please! I will see you on the other side!”_ _

__“JENO!” Jaemin waled._ _

__“DOWN THE STAIRS! I WILL BE RIGHT AFTER YOU!” Jeno cried._ _

__Renjun grabbed Jaemin’s hand and yanked him down the stairwell. Around half-way down, there was the sound of a door slamming._ _

__“Jeno!” Renjun screamed. “Come down!” there was no response._ _

__A quake shook the building as a deafening boom echoed from above. A burst of fire filled the stairwell as Renjun and Jaemin sprinted away from the blast.  
From outside, they could see that the entirety of the third floor was on fire, crumbling from the force of the explosion. _ _

__“JENO!” they screamed again, collapsing to the floor, sobbing._ _

__The wails were worse than any night terror. Jaemin shook, cold and burning hot at the same time as he watched the fire lick away at the rest of the building. Beside him, Renjun was screaming, over and over and over. He tried to launch himself towards the entrance again. “Renjun no!” Jaemin held him back._ _

__“Please! I HAVE TO SAVE HIM.”_ _

__“RENJUN, JAEMIN!” Mark sprinted over and hauled them both into the van. “Where is Jeno?”_ _

__Renjun only sobbed harder and Jaemin stared at the black wall of the van._ _

__Chenle turned one of the computer screens for the rest of the team to see:_ _

__**telecomm device #04, self-detonate activated** _ _

__

__“He’s gone.”_ _

__

__~_ _

__

__There was a funeral._ _

__A bland excuse for a celebration._ _

__The flowers lining the empty coffin were too bright. Jaemin had to look away._ _

__The chair next to him was empty._ _

__Renjun hadn’t shown._ _

__He went missing the day after. That was a week ago._ _

__Jaemin had used all his tears on the first night. After, they had gone into the training room and destroyed every piece of equipment they could find before collapsing into bed and soaking the sheets with salty tears._ _

__

__There was always going to be a price. Happiness never came without one._ _

__Jeno was their price._ _

__The fragility of life was so real now._ _

__Even the strong and invincible could become weak when tasked with saving the ones they loved._ _

__Jaemin’s hand shook as he placed the stuffed toy cow Renjun had won him on that first day of freedom inside the empty coffin._ _

__The boy with sunshine in his smile was gone._ _

__And now it was time for Jaemin to go too._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> congratulations to those who made it to the end. thank you for reading!
> 
> remember to leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed <3


	7. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years later and the hurt still lives on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, you wanted a happy epilogue? sorry i missed the memo T-T
> 
> anyways this is set two years after Now Run and it kind of just closes off the loose ends (lol notice how this one includes an open ending tho). if you have clicked on this story you are going to have to read Now Run first to understand anything that is going on sorry. 
> 
> hope you enjoy and i am sorry for abusing everyone's tear ducts with Now Run, pretty much all the comments included something about you guys crying lol
> 
> hope you enjoy and i love you guys :)
> 
> EDIT: this was originally it’s own seperate story but I decided I didn’t like having it as a series so I added it onto the end of this fic instead and deleted the original

Sinking lower into the booth, Jaemin surveyed the diner. It was empty at 2 AM, nothing but the sound of whirring fans and a flickering neon light to break the silence.

The Korean summer was unforgiving, and Jaemin’s hands left print marks on the plastic table in front of him. Jaemin cursed himself mentally for choosing to wear jeans, but clothing was limited and he was only in Seoul for a short time. No point in buying more. 

A ring of a rusty bell and then the slide of denim against worn leather seats alerted Jaemin to his presence. 

A familiar electric blue stare met his from across the table. 

“Jisung,” Jaemin nodded curtly. “I asked Mark to meet me. Why are you here?”

“Mark was busy.” The younger male said quietly, bionic eye zooming in and out on Jaemin’s features.

“Bullshit.” Jaemin scoffed. “Mark Lee, I know you are here.” He called, voice echoing through the diner. 

“He’s not here Jaemin.” Jisung said, more urgently this time. 

“Again, bullshit.” Jaemin leant forward and grabbed Jisung’s chin, turning his head to one side. “I can see the earpiece, but nice try.” 

There was another ring as the door opened for the second time. Mark Lee stalked the length of the diner, pinning Jaemin with a look that could be only described as disappointed. 

“Jaemin.” He said slowly, stopping a metre or so away from the table. 

“Don’t look at me like that Mark. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Jaemin stood up, matching his height to Mark’s. The older male looked haggard, nothing like the strong and valiant leader he used to know. 

“You didn’t?” Mark stared him down again. 

“What did you expect me to do, Mark? Sit around and pretend I was okay?!” He yelled, dragging a quaking had through his unwashed hair. “I was in love with him! It wasn’t some little friendship!”

“We all loved him Jaemin! We were a team! A family!” Mark reached down and yanked up a sleeve, revealing the dream insignia tattoo on his wrist. “You promised you would never leave us.”

“I couldn’t just stay there, Mark. Imagine if was Hyuck. Or Jisung,” he turned to the younger in behind him, “what if it was Chenle?” 

The boy flinched but remained silent. 

“Jaemin,” Mark said quietly, “I know, believe me, but it’s been two years. Come back to us.” 

Jaemin froze. _Two years?_

He had been gone for _two years?_

Time sort of slipped away after he left. Nineteen-year-old Jaemin had been distraught, stumbling through the streets of Seoul trying to find some refuge. He had no money, no means of communication, nothing.  
In the end, SVT’s men had scouted him crouching outside a closed department store and brought him in to see Seungcheol. The man remembered Jaemin from the trading trip months prior and gave him some resources in return for doing petty drug runs under SVT’s name. Two months later he had left Seoul, guided by a tip he had gotten from a hooded stranger in the back of a nightclub. 

Now twenty-one, Jaemin had returned to Seoul

“I can’t.” Jaemin chocked. “He is still gone.” 

“We aren’t talking about Jeno anymore, are we?” Mark reached out and stroked Jaemin’s hair. 

Jaemin shook his head, tears leaking from behind his slitted eyes. 

“Jaemin,” Mark whispered, pulling Jaemin into a hug. 

Jaemin sobbed, breath crackling through his lungs. Mark was warm and he smelled like polished leather. 

Jisung’s large hand carded through his hair as he awkwardly attempted to comfort his crying brother. 

“Renjun is out there somewhere Nana.” Mark murmured, pet name sending a fresh wave of hurt rolling through Jaemin’s body. 

Renjun. 

The one name he couldn’t physically make himself say. The word would die on his lips every time he tried. 

The enigma. 

Jaemin had spent the last two years grieving the loss of one lover and searching for the other.  
It was impossibly lonely, cheap hook-ups and meaningless relationships doing nothing to heal the yearning in his shattered heart. 

Renjun was like the gold at the end of the rainbow. It took a long time to get to it, but once you did, you would be the richest man in the world.  
Now Jaemin’s fortune was gone, leaving him a broken beggar man. 

“Come home, Nana.” The hands caressed his body, soothing his fragile nerves. 

 

~

 

The compound was the same, only it wasn’t. 

Donghyuck smiled as he welcomed Jaemin back, but the sunshine in his skin was missing, replaced with grey. Sad eyes accompanied that smile. Jaemin couldn’t forget the shake of the male’s hands as he inspected the plethora of cuts and bruises Jaemin had received after years in search. 

Chenle didn’t make any crude remarks. He had apparently stopped making jokes after Jaemin had left, no good material to work with.  
The younger now spent all his time in the lab, making sleeping serum. It wasn’t only Renjun who needed it these days. 

Jisung took double doses. 

B.A.P had ruined Jisung. 

“Jaemin. You’re home.”

 

~

 

Dinner was quiet. Jaemin shuffled his food around the plate. 

“I’m sorry.” He murmured to no one in particular.

Dinner was no longer quiet. Broken sobs and too many hugs followed, with the five remaining Dreamies hauling themselves into Mark’s bed to reflect on all they had lost, and thank the gods for all they had found.

Jeno was lost.

Renjun was lost.

Jaemin was found. 

 

~

 

Twenty-one morphed into twenty-two and the smile slowly lost its sadness. Being around his family helped.

There were always the two empty seats at the kitchen table. The untouched rack of katana and bamboo rods in the corner of the training room. The two locked doors next to Jaemin’s bedroom. 

No one could quite beat the high score on the fruit ninja VR game. 

Gang activity had slowed down to an almost grinding halt. Dream was taking a ‘hiatus’ of sorts.  
Their missions now consisted of trips to the local cinema or art galleries. The bowling alley.  
Jaemin still didn’t know how to bowl, but he joked that “at least he wasn’t as bad as Renjun.”

Mark taught Jaemin how to make waffles and Donghyuck gave him two more tattoos. 

A black cat and a dragon. 

 

~

 

“Mark I think I want to do it,” Jaemin said one autumn morning as he strode into the training room. His leader put down his boxing gloves and ushered Jaemin into their black van. 

“Plot 2, row 15.” Mark handed Jaemin a gold medal with the NCT insignia engraved on its surface. “Give this to Jeno for me, okay?” 

Amber leaves crunched under Jaemin’s boots as he made his way towards the grave. 

A small figure was hunched beside the headstone, fingering a flower from the bouquet leaning against it.

Three years of emotional turmoil came crashing down upon Jaemin’s head as the figure looked up, elegant eyes meeting Jaemin’s, brown hair shining in the weak sunlight. 

Jaemin found him. 

He came home.

"Renjun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah so you made it 
> 
> yell at me in the comments or on twitter? [@valenlimes](https://twitter.com/valenlimes)

**Author's Note:**

> remember to leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed :)
> 
> come and yell at me on twitter [@valenlimes](https://twitter.com/valenlimes)


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